Turkey
Answer ... Under the Turkish Petroleum Law (6491), licence holders must not directly or indirectly commit dangerous acts during the petroleum operations. Licence holders may install the required facilities and equipment to conduct petroleum operations under the licence, provided that this does not disrupt the lives of local people or harm the environment or nature.
Under the Environmental Law (2872), companies must prepare an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report or project information file if a project could result in pollution. Permits, consents, incentives and licences will not be issued and operations thereunder cannot commence unless a positive decision on an EIA or an ‘EIA not required’ decision has been issued by the competent authorities. The administrative and technical procedures and principles relating to EIAs must be conducted as per the EIA Regulation dated 25 November 2014. Article 7 of the EIA Regulation lists the projects which require an EIA report. The competent authority to issue an EIA report is the Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation (MEU), which may also authorise the provincial governorates to issue such reports and decisions.
Oil and gas activities are listed under Annex 1 of the EIA Regulation and therefore require an application to the MEU in order for the latter to assess whether the operations require a positive EIA report.
Turkey
Answer ... As explained in question 7.1, in accordance with the Environmental Law, companies and institutions are obliged to prepare an EIA report if a project could result in pollution. Hence, once an EIA report has been approved by the MEU, the operator must observe the provisions of the report while the oil and gas facilities are operational.
Under the Environmental Law, individuals and legal entities are responsible for the protection of the environment and the prevention of pollution. Polluters are responsible for stopping or reducing the impact of pollution or environmental degradation that they have caused, directly or indirectly.
Under the Turkish Petroleum Law Implementation Regulation, during the drilling, completion, production and development operations at the wells, petroleum rights holders must:
- refrain from carrying out activities which could jeopardise human health or cause harm to nature, the environment or cultural assets; and
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take all precautions to prevent:
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- the flow of fluids from the well to the surface or from the surface into the well, and from one formation into another; and
- over-production in the wells which negatively affects the dynamic of the reservoirs.
More generally, operators carrying out exploration and production activities (including through unconventional methods) must prevent and minimise possible damage to, and negative effects on, ground and underground water, air and soil, in order to protect human health and the environment.
Turkey
Answer ... Under the Turkish Petroleum Law, the applicant for an exploration licence or a production lease must provide security for any loss and damages that may arise during operations, the amount of which is calculated based on the size of the exploration licence area (0.1% per hectare of the relevant exploration area) or the production lease area (0.5% per hectare of the relevant production lease area).
In addition to the information set out in question 7.2, under the Turkish Petroleum Law Implementation Regulation, licence holders that conclude their petroleum operations must restore the land to its former condition. Licence holders must also fully compensate and pay for damage caused to:
- the landowner;
- the land;
- the facilities on that land; and
- the product price or operating profit that the landowner is deprived of.
Under the Environmental Law, if polluters do not take all necessary precautions, the costs incurred by government entities for the prevention, limitation, removal or remediation of pollution may be collected from those polluters as per the Law on Collection Procedure of Public Assets (6183).
Turkey
Answer ... The environmental legislation and other relevant laws provide that breaches of environmental laws or acts causing environmental pollution, degradation or damage are punishable by:
- administrative fines;
- criminal penalties; and
- other monetary liabilities
The Environmental Law sets out the main principles for the protection of the environment and the prevention of pollution, and the administrative sanctions and criminal penalties for violation of the same.
Under the Environmental Law, polluters that cause environmental pollution or degradation are liable for damages that arise from pollution or degradation based on the principle of liability without fault, without prejudice to their liability under the general provisions of Turkish law. The provisions on tort, liability of the property owner, employer liability or danger liability may create a basis for liability with fault or liability without fault of the persons in relation to environmental damages if the relevant conditions are met.
In terms of criminal penalties, the Criminal Code provides that anyone that intentionally pollutes the environment in violation of the regulations on waste disposal will be sentenced to imprisonment for between six months and two years. Legal entities are not subject to such penalties; although individuals who are responsible and authorised to conduct waste disposal activities may be subject to the criminal penalties depending on their job description and responsibilities. Where waste disposal requires corporate investments to be made for a legal entity, the board of directors and managers may be subject to the criminal penalties for their failure to make such investments and/or take relevant decisions.
Turkey
Answer ... The MEU is responsible for:
- enforcing the environmental legislation;
- issuing the relevant permits; and
- reviewing EIA reports.
Moreover, the MEU is entitled to delegate its authority to provincial governorates, subject to administrative law principles.
Turkey
Answer ... Regulators in the oil and gas industry place significant importance on the protection of the environment before, during and after the conduct of oil and gas activities. In other words, compliance with environmental regulations is a prerequisite for conducting oil and gas activities and obtaining EIA reports. The regulators’ current approach is to increase inspections and sanctions for environmental violations.