Offshore Oil Drilling Platform Liability System Research

It is the legal liability system concerning offshore oil rigs that this thesis tries to clarify. Chapter One is on the legal system regulating oil rigs, which can be divided into domestic laws and international laws. Those laws regulate offshore oil rigs directly or through regarding them as vessels. When it is uncertain whether oil rigs can be regulated as vessels by some law, the purpose of the law and related policy shall be taken into consideration. Generally speaking, if not being fixed, floating offshore oil rigs can be taken as vessels.In Chapter Two, the writer introduces the situations when China may bear state responsibility for failing to implement the obligations under the conventions it joined, most of which are made to prevent and respond the pollution from offshore oil rigs. In China, there is a mature administrative liability system regulating offshore oil rigs’ pollution, but the general administrative liability level hereunder is too low.Discussion of offshore oil rigs’ tort liability under Chapter Three is the most important part of this thesis. Oil rigs’ tort liability can be divided into tort liability caused by oil pollution and tort liability not caused by oil pollution. Offshore oil rigs’ tort liability caused by oil pollution may be regulated by Protocol of1992to Amend the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage,1969and International Convention on Civil Liability for Bulk Oil Pollution Damage,2001, or it will be regulated by Maritime Code of PRC, Marine Environment Protection Law of PRC and other related regulations. Besides, the application of either above convention will not exclude the application of domestic laws. Offshore oil rigs’ tort liability not caused by oil pollution will be born in accordance with General Principles of the Civil Law of PRC and Tort Law of PRC.The limitation of liability system, fund system and insurance system concerning oil rigs respectively makes the victims, the oil owners and the insurer directly or indirectly take part of the tort liability.The remaining liabilities are criminal liability and the liability for breaching the contract. The liability for breaching the cooperative exploitation contract will be mainly decided according to the agreements in the cooperative exploitation contract and the disputes arising from the contract should be solved through friendly negotiation or arbitration.