Preventing major offshore oil spill accidents in China: Lessons from the EU offshore safety directive

With offshore oil and gas activities growing and moving to further and deeper water, offshore oil-spill prevention has become a significant component of marine environmental protection. To reduce the risk of major accidents and limit their consequences, the European Union issued the Offshore Safety Directive in 2013, establishing a high standard for the safety of offshore oil and gas operations and a comprehensive legal framework for risk management and accident prevention. This may become a referential framework for China, as it is reforming its offshore safety legislation and improving its prevention capacity for offshore oil spills. By providing a comparative study of the obligations for operators based on the application of environmental principles, this article suggests that China unify and reinforce its legal framework for the safety of offshore operations while also establishing higher and more detailed safety standards for operators.