A workshop on the Safety and Health aspects of Natural Gas operations in the Eastern Mediterranean with particular emphasis on the cases of Cyprus and Israel took place on the 13th of November at the Andreas Themistocleous Building of the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), in Limassol, Cyprus, and it was organized by the Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health (CII). Prof. Konstantinos Makris from CII moderated the discussions and welcomed the audience and presenters with a brief overview of the EU goals with respect to European energy dependency and hydrocarbons developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, including the health and safety issues associated with occupational risk factors in the gas/oil sector and the potential environmental and public health impact on communities residing in close proximity to locations where such operations take place.

Professor Alon Tal from Ben Gurion University (Israel) presented the main challenges of the Israel’s oil and natural gas developments associated with currently discussed environmental, regulatory and public health policies. The perspectives of the industry, the government and the civil society with regards to gas operations in Israel were the core of the discussion. Publicly-available information by the industry was presented along with the regulatory framework currently in place in the country. The role of civil society was brought forward with a discussion favoring the creation of a new super agency that will be capable of functioning towards the systematic prevention, monitoring, response and recovery from possible accidents in the oil/gas operations and surrounding marine and terrestrial environments.

Professor Tal closed his presentation highlighting that this is a new era for the region with regards to gas exploitation and the countries should benefit from it, ensuring that all operations should be performed in the most safe and healthy manner.

The challenges of the implementation of the Directive 2013/30/EU for the safety of offshore oil and gas operations in Cyprus were presented by Dr. Chrysanthos Savvides of the Cyprus Department of Labor Inspection which is responsible for the safety aspects of offshore hydrocarbon exploration and production in the country. The regulatory framework of the SEVESO Directive was mentioned to support the monitoring and surveillance of the onshore oil/gas activities; new regulations associated with the offshore oil/gas operations will be included in the Safety and Health at Work law or they will be introduced through new policy articles or amendments of the existing legislation. Currently, the Offshore Directive 2013/30/EU is in the stage of public consultation and the national regulation should be published by July 2015, pending approval by the Ministerial Council.

The environmental aspects of oil and gas exploration and production in Cyprus were presented by Irene Constantinou, Environment Officer A, of the Environmental Impact Assessment Unit of the Cyprus Department of Environment. Ms. Constantinou elaborated on the adverse impacts of the oil and gas operations on the marine mammals, sea turtles and the benthic community as well as the effects on water and air quality, shipwrecks and underwater archaeological sites. The environmental legislative framework in Cyprus that consists of: (i) the Environmental Impact Assessment for Certain Plans and/or Programs Law (SEA Directive), (ii) the Environmental Impact Assessment for Certain Projects Law (EIA Directive), and (iii) the Offshore Protocol, was also discussed. Ms. Constantinou concluded her presentation with remarks on the environmental prospects and challenges of offshore drillings, including the need to establish a National Monitoring System towards assisting the environmental impact assessments, and promoting the transboundary cooperation of regional states of the Eastern Mediterranean.