The International Regime for Liability for Pollution arising from Offshore Drilling Activities

Drilling of Oil and Gas wells located at sea (offshore) may result in transboundary pollution outside the state in which activities have been performed and damage to territory of other countries. Compensating the damage to affected states requires the wrongful acts of states of operation which makes it difficult to compensate promptly and adequately. Therefore, it is required to address the regime for liability arising from lawful but hazardous activities under international law. Although offshore drilling activities are dangerous, they are lawful under international law and generally, they are being performed by private actors. Channeling international liability to the responsible private actor for hazardous activities which lead to transboundary pollution prevents from lack of compensation for victims of pollution. Hence, we examine the elements which have the key roles in the effective international civil liability regime related to pollution arising from offshore drilling activities.