What information do
I need to provide for you to undertake oil spill modelling?
A modelling request form can be provided by
OSRL/EARL which details all the information required to run an oil spill model.
Please contact modelling@osrlearl.com
for further details.
BACK TO TOP
Why can't we change
the terms and conditions in the membership agreements?
We sincerely regret that these terms and conditions
cannot be changed to suit every member. We are a cooperative with all members
treated equally. These terms and conditions were deliberated upon for a long
time among all the Participants who are also the Shareholders of OSRL/EARL.
Each Shareholder's legal advisors had many good reasons, in the interest of
their company to rewrite some of the terms and conditions. However, being
Shareholders of OSRL/EARL at the same time also made them realise that their
ownership role in OSRL/EARL requires them to accept these terms. In order
for OSRL/EARL, as an oil industry organisation, to make available quality
oil spill response and preparedness services at an affordable cost, compromises
must be made.
BACK TO TOP
Is Membership of any
value if oil spill risks are low or limited to Tier 1 and Tier 2 spills?
In today's business, while emphasis is often
being placed on the bottom line marker, more and more companies are also realising
the importance of ensuring sustainability within the environment they operate
in. Many believe in and are committed to preparedness i.e. equipping their
staff with the knowledge and resources in preventing and mitigating the damages
caused by oil spills.
Membership allows a company to officially quote OSRL/EARL as their available
resources in contingency plans. In the event of any incident or potential
incident, our Duty Managers are just a call away to advise you at any time
of the day. The value comes in the form of having your own "virtual" oil spill
response department which you have "set up" for yourself without the equipment
maintenance commitment nor the need for high capital investment.
The added value also comes in the form of on site techincal advisory service
at no cost for the initial 48 hours. In the event that a response operation
is initiated, terms and conditions, including rates, will revert to the Participant
or Associate Agreement.
BACK TO TOP
Can Associate Membership
apply across different countries?
A number of companies started as Associate
Members covering either a single or a small number
of specified locations often in one particular region of the world. As their
operations expand, they can upgrade their Associate Membership to cover multiple
sites located in different countries under the same membership agreement.
However, there will come a time where it will be more cost effective to consider
Participant Membership which entitles a Member to global coverage for
all operations.
BACK TO TOP
Why or when should
I consider upgrading from Associate Membership to Participant Membership?
Participant Membership provides coverage any
where / any time to the member and covers all their operations whether upstream,
downstream or during transportation. In addition, Participant Membership allows
a member to call out OSRL/EARL on behalf of third parties, thereby, providing
even more flexibility in their coverage. Participant Membership can be very
cost effective when shared across the company.
BACK TO TOP
Under what circumstances
can we pay in US$?
Prior to the forming of an Alliance in year
2000, both OSRL and EARL served different geographical markets. With the Alliance
and the recent merger, our customers now enjoy the combined expertise and
resources and also the convenience of utilising services from UK, Singapore
or even the Bahrain base depending on proximity as they expand their businesses
internationally. The applicable currency is very much determined by the regions
in which the operations are based. For example, customers with an initial
contract with OSRL having operations in Europe will continue to be invoiced
in sterling pounds while those whose majority of operations in the Asia Pacific
region will be invoiced in US dollars.
BACK TO TOP
Why are the UK membership
subscription fees subject to VAT?
As stated by HM Customs and Excise, OSRL/EARL's
annual subscriptions are considered a supply of services made where the supplier
belongs, that is the UK and therefore the supply will be subject to Value
Added Tax (VAT). The law on services supplied where the supplier belongs is
in the VAT act, Section 7 (10).
For non UK based companies, VAT is fully recoverable but must be done within
six months. OSRL/EARL, UK will provide documentation to aid the process of
reclaiming VAT and any further information can be found on www.hmrc.gov.uk.
BACK TO TOP
At which stage of an
oil spill incident should I contact OSRL/EARL? At which point of the contact
will the charges be calculated?
A great advantage of membership is the peace
of mind, knowing that you can call OSRL/EARL anytime, no matter the size of
the spill, even if the spill becomes manageable and requires no activation
from us.
OSRL/EARL practises pro-active activation whereby a judgement call will be
made upon discussion with the member on the likelihood of requiring a response.
If it is likely that an activation is necessary, OSRL/EARL will start recalling
its Spill Response Specialists to the base to make logistic arrangements and
to commence the loading of equipment so as to minimise any delay in reaching
the spill site. A number of companies have started their membership of OSRL/EARL
as an Associate Member covering either a single or a small number of specified
locations often in one particular region of the world. As their operations
grow, they can upgrade their Associate Membership to cover multiple sites
located in different countries under the same membership agreement. However,
there will come a time where it will be more cost effective to consider Participant
Membership which entitles a member to global coverage for all operations.
BACK TO TOP
If I have a spill in
the Middle East, do I call Southampton or Singapore? How do I activate resources
at the Bahrain base?
You can either call our UK office or the Singapore
office to activate resources at our Bahrain base.
BACK TO TOP
Why is there a Singapore
mobilisation fee?
OSRL/EARL is a not for profit organisation
which relies on subscription fees and income from preparedness services to
fund the cost of operating the organisation on a day to day basis. Clearly,
these costs are significant and the more Members we have contributing the
better it is for all. OSRL/EARL’s resources can be made available to
non members in an emergency subject to the approval of Directors, acceptance
of a third party contract and payment of rates that are twice those of a Member.
Since 1994, OSRL/EARL has been mobilised on several occasions by non members
for spills in Asia. We feel that organisations that have a risk of an oil
spill should become Members rather than adopt a wait-and-see approach. Given
the high incidence of non member call outs in Asia, we feel that an additional
mobilisation fee of US$20,000 is warranted for OSRL/EARL Singapore.
BACK TO TOP
Is it expensive to
call out OSRL/EARL?
This will very much depend on the amount of
personnel and equipment resources that are called upon as well as the length
of time involved. The rates for personnel and equipment hire are stated in
the scale of fees in the yearbook. OSRL/EARL will always give an estimate
in advance
of the costs likely to be incurred during a spill response as well as daily
updates of actual costs incurred.
However,
it is worth remembering that an oil spill incident does not have to be a ‘Tier
3’ to ask OSRL/EARL for assistance. In fact, in the majority of incidents
our involvement is mainly
to provide advice on the appropriate response strategies or technical assistance
to the Member’s own response team at the spill site. We are very happy
to assist no matter what the scale of the incident is.
BACK TO TOP
If I have Associate
Membership for one site and I have an emergency at another site, can I call
out OSRL/EARL? What does guaranteed response mean?
Associate Membership is designed to provide
a cost effective solution for companies with a limited number of operations
with oil spill risk, for example, an FPSO or an exploration well. The Associate
Member must name the site or sites to be coveredand the annual production.
This information provides the basis for the annual fee.
For
the named site, the Member is guaranteed a response from OSRL/EARL under the
same terms and conditions as a Participant. However, coverage is strictly
limited to those locations. It would not be fair to global Members, who pay
a higher annual fee, to provide a guaranteed response in all circumstances
to an Associate Member. The Associate
Member can still request assistance from OSRL/EARL but this would be considered
in the same manner as any third party request for assistance, namely not guaranteed
and subject to Directors’ approval.
BACK TO TOP
Why is there a special
form of membership for shipping?
Recognising the growing interest in Membership
by the tanker industry, OSRL/EARL established a new form of Associate Membership
for shipping in 2005. This category is specially designed to meet the needs
of tanker owners and operators with its own criteria for establishing the
potential
risks and membership pricing. Pricing is based firstly on geographical coverage,
Europe, Singapore or internationally and then a unit fee is applicable to
each vessel covered (up to a maximum of 25 vessels). The fees are agreed in
advance on the basis of the records of the company for the previous year.
At
the end of the year, the Shipping Member makes a new declaration of activities
and the fee is adjusted accordingly. The intention is to provide tanker owners
and operators maximum flexibility in covering their operations worldwide.
BACK TO TOP
My company has very
low production - I think the lowest band is still expensive, can you explain?
OSRL/EARL is a not for profit organisation
established and funded by the international oil industry to provide resources
to enhance global preparedness and response. The Shareholders under the Service
Level Agreement (SLA) agree the number and nature of the resources held by
OSRL/EARL, for instance, maintaining a Hercules aircraft in both Singapore
and Southampton. The annual membership fees plus income from preparedness
services must balance out the costs of funding
the SLA. These fees are approved by Shareholders every year.
OSRL/EARL
offers different categories of membership, each with its own pricing structure
in order to offer as many options as possible to existing and prospective
Members. Although we understand that some companies may feel the fees are
too high for their circumstances, we have tried to achieve a reasonable balance
across the different categories and ensure parity among all Members.
BACK TO TOP
Is there a charge
to contact the OSRL/EARL Duty Manager when I am having an exercise?
There is no charge to contact the OSRL/EARL
Duty Manager when you are having a table top exercise. Indeed, we welcome
such calls from members and are very happy to provide likely response times
and logistic arrangements. Exercises are a great way to test out contingency
plans and ensure that all the appropriate information on resources and contacts
are up to date.
OSRL/EARL is also pleased to be further involved in member's exercises. This
may range from developing scenarios and roles for the exercise to actual deployment
of personnel and resources. The cost of this will depend on the nature and
extent of the involvement.
BACK TO TOP
If I have tier 1
and tier 2 coverage, why do I need tier 3 (and especially if it is very far
away)?
The oil industry strongly promotes the tiered
response concept as the most efficient and effective way to manage resources
for a major oil spill. Tier 1 refers to having equipment on site to deal with
minor operational spills while Tier 2 means having access to in-country resources,
both personnel and equipment, that are shared under a form of mutual aid agreement
by the different companies working there and which provides for access to
the resources in an emergency.
Tier
3 is designed to provide additional expertise and resources in the event of
a major spill, either in terms of volume or complexity, which cannot be managed
with available Tier 1 and Tier 2 resources. It is essential that any organisation
with an oil spill risk has appropriate coverage at each tier in order to be
able to effectively respond to an oil spill.
Do
you have a question? Please contact us.
BACK TO TOP