TITLE 33 - NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS

CHAPTER I - COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

SUBCHAPTER M - MARINE POLLUTION FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND COMPENSATION

PART 135 - OFFSHORE OIL POLLUTION COMPENSATION FUND

subpart c - FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR OFFSHORE FACILITIES

135.201 - Applicability.

  (a) This subpart applies to the owner or operator of each offshore facility required by the Act to establish and maintain evidence of financial responsibility.

  (b) For the purpose of this subpart: (1) All structures, including platforms, wells, and pipelines, are considered a single offshore facility if they are physically connected, located upstream of the point of custody transfer, within the same oil field, and under one ownership.

  (2) If separate parts of a structure, including platforms and pipelines, are owned separately, each part having common ownership is considered a separate offshore facility.

  (3) A mobile offshore drilling unit is considered an offshore facility from the moment a drill shaft or other device connected to the unit first touches the seabed or connects to a well for the purposes of exploration, development, or production of oil until drilling is completed and the unit is no longer attached to the well or drill hole by any device.

  (4) A mobile offshore drilling unit considered an offshore facility under paragraph (b)(3) of this section remains a separate facility when physically connected to another offshore facility, unless both are under one ownership.

  (5) All segments of a common carrier pipeline from the point of custody transfer to the shore, including any pumping or booster stations, which are under one ownership are considered a single offshore facility.

  (6) Any pipeline, which is under one ownership, between two offshore facilities, or between an offshore facility and the shore, is considered a single offshore facility.

  (7) Offshore facilities which drill for, produce, or process only natural gas are not subject to this subpart unless the facilities have the capacity to transport, store, or otherwise handle more than 1,000 barrels of condensate at any one time.

Note: Regulations governing financial responsiblity and certification for vessels are promulgated by the Federal Maritime Commission.