Our Involvement
The Crown Estate’s consent is required for all telecommunication cables and oil and gas pipelines that cross the seabed within 12 nautical miles of the UK coastline. This consent is recognition of The Crown Estate’s proprietary interests. We also need to be informed of cables and pipelines transiting or seeking to transit waters that fall within the 200 nautical mile limit, as mineral rights, such as marine aggregates, or offshore windfarm developments may be affected.
Consents
The Crown Estate will only grant a lease or licence once all the necessary statutory consents have been obtained from government. Consents required for construction may vary but are generally issued by either BERR (Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform – formerly part of the DTI) or DEFRA, who should be contacted for more information. In Wales and Scotland permission of the devolved assembly / parliament may be required. The Crown Estate owns some, but not all, of the UK foreshore.
The Crown Estate now has a standard offshore survey consent which is available on request.
Cables
The late 1990s saw an unprecedented growth in the deployment of international telecommunications cables around the world, spurred by the internet revolution and e-commerce. The industry is currently in a period of correction and it is expected that companies will emerge more focused and better equipped to operate in the new telecommunications environment. It is believed immediate future growth in the number of cables will be slow until such time as technology applications evolve to use the surplus transmission capacity currently available.
However the operational cables, out-of-service cables and resulting distressed asset cables continue to require our attention and management.
The Crown Estate issued revised heads of terms following consultation with the industry and consultants. This came into effect on 1 January 1998 and covers issues such as:
- Cable system definitions
- Annual operating fees
- Exclusion zones.
For a full copy of the heads of terms and the licence please follow the links below.
The Crown Estate reserves the right to update the licence terms as required to keep pace with the modernization of other legal documents and legislation.
Pipelines
Offshore oil and gas in the UK continental shelf is now a mature industry and production of many fields is in decline. The UK is now a net importer of gas and the percentage of imported gas is predicted to increase to 80-90% by 2020.
With improvements in technology, enhanced oil recovery, tighter control on production costs, introduction of smaller satellite fields and a sustained increase in crude oil prices, production in the North Sea, which accounts for the majority of the pipelines, is expected to continue for at least 20 years.
In addition there are newer oil related developments off the west coast of Scotland and recently the BBL gas pipeline and the Langeled pipeline have been completed. The Langeled scheme, which has an expected lifetime of at least 30 years, went operational in September 2006 and transports gas from Norway to the UK.
For a copy of the full heads of terms for pipelines please follow the link below. This came into effect on 1 January 2005 and covers issues such as:
- Base rent and additional rents
- New and existing leases
- Conflict with mineral interests
- Suspension of use and decommissioning.
Responsibility & Removal
Under the terms of the licence issued by The Crown Estate, companies are liable for all structures crossing the seabed. The licence holder is also responsible for the removal of cables and pipelines that are no longer in use. However in certain circumstances environmental considerations may be such that the impact of removal of a cable or pipeline may be deemed to be greater than leaving it in situ. In this case liability for these remains with the original licence holder.
If you wish to apply for a licence and for further details concerning our involvement please either contact either The Crown Estate or our retained surveyors, Powis Hughes & Associates.
However further general information concerning cables and pipelines in the UK can be found at the UK Cable Protection Committee (UKCPC) and Oil and Gas UK (formerly UK Offshore Operators Association) websites.
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