Kulturminner_og_petroleumsutvinning_i_Nordsjøen : Cultural heritage and petro industry in the North Sea (original) (raw)

This paper is a reviewed version of the underwater cultural heritage (UCH) assessment done by the Norwegian Maritime Museum as a part of the development of the Regional Impact Assessment of Petroleum Extraction in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea (2006). The authors review the present knowledge of UCH on the continental shelf and the rules and regulations that apply to it. The assessment concludes that the potential for conflict between petroleum activities and UCH is high. Several procedures and actions are suggested for a better adaptment to the legal regime, aggregate knowledge of cultural monuments on the seabed, and, consequently, limiting the potential for conflict. According to the authors the condition relating to environmental concerns in the awards of petroleum production licence on the Norwegian continental shelf mirror the present legal situation in a nutshell: Licensees are required to map and report discoveries of wrecks and other cultural monuments that can be affected by petroleum activity in the awarded blocks and, in co- operation with cultural monument administration, ensure that possible cultural monuments are not damaged by the petroleum activity. (Ministry of Petroleum and Energy – Olje- og energidepartementet 2006)