Theory Of Improving China’s Offshore Oil Development Environment Pollution Legal Relief Mechanisms

In many countries the major access to get oil is ocean oil exploration and development, but the risk of oil pollution is increasing. In 2010 and 2011, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the Bohai Bay oil spill accidents aroused widespread concern, both of them caused disastrous consequences. Relying on the Oil Pollution Act of the U.S. and relatively perfect legal relief mechanisms, the U.S. government controlled the risk quickly and demanded compensation for the losses of their residents and marine ecological timely and effectively. In contrast, China has no special oil pollution law, the outdated and limited emergency response mechanism and tort law mechanism lead to bad results that the government and the residents must pay for the pollution caused by enterprises. The current national regulation mainly concern on the environmental damage relief of the oil pollution from ship, rather than oil pollution occurred in the offshore oil development, but both of them belong to oil pollution damage, which share with the same legal relationship and relief channels. In national regulation, only the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 of the U.S. includes the oil damage of offshore oil development into the scope of legal regulation, setting up oil development environment pollution legal relief mechanisms and providing a few valuable routes for study.This paper aims to study the offshore oil development environment pollution legal relief mechanisms. The Bohai Bay oil spill accident exposed that China’s offshore oil development environment pollution legal relief mechanisms are incomplete and cryptic. China needs to summarize lessons from the Bohai Bay oil spill accident, on the basis of referring international legislation and the Oil Pollution Act of the U.S., setting up well-established regulatory mechanisms and legal relief mechanisms which include tort law mechanism(strict responsibility, the scope of compensation, liability limits system), the mandatory liability insurance, the Oil Pollution Liability Trust Fund system, and environmental public interest litigation system.This paper is divided into four chapters. Chapter Ⅰ analyzes and assesses a series of response measures and legal remedies of all parts after the Bohai Bay oil spill occurred, pointing out the questions of China’s offshore oil development environment pollution legal relief mechanisms. Chapter Ⅱ analyzes a series of response measures of the BP and the U.S. government after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill occurred. And analyzes marine oil development environment pollution legal relief system of the U.S., offers references to making China’s offshore oil development environment pollution legal relief mechanisms. Chapter Ⅲ introduces and analyzes the legislative situation of the international oil pollution legal relief mechanisms, pointing out achievements which we can absorb, and gives suggestions on the shortcomings. Chapter Ⅳ suggests that China’s oil development environment pollution legal relief mechanisms should be set up as soon as possible, and it’s necessary to improve the development of offshore oil exposure to environment pollution prevention and regulatory mechanisms, which aims to minimize the damage to nature ecological environment, persons and property caused by oil spill accident. So the nature ecological environment and the victims could receive timely and sound compensation.