Political Aspects of Decommissioning’

Discussion of the political significance of the decommissioning of offshore structures means encountering a number of fundamental concerns of social science. One of these is the relationship between two central terms: the public interest and private interest. Another is the relevance of the consultation model of political decision-making. Yet another concerns the reasons for policy change. The Brent Spar events during April of 1995 — up to the date of the Greenpeace occupation — exhibit the search for consent among the affected interests that underpins much, particularly technically based, governmental decision making. However, ultimately, this case indicates that the search for agreement is not necessarily fruitful if there are fundamentally different objectives, values and priorities among those with an interest. Moreover the success of the consultation may have been undermined by the lack of breadth in its range.