ABSTRACT
Oil and natural gas today account for over 60 per cent of the world’s energy supply. One-third of it comes from the offshore sector. This makes the offshore oil and gas industry a significant component in the functioning of the global economy. To extract oil and natural gas from the seabed the offshore industry uses a range of offshore installations of various shapes and sizes, designed to perform certain functions related to exploration and exploitation of offshore oil and gas resources. The global nature of the oil and gas industry means that offshore installations operate in diverse legal, cultural and political environments. Due to their economic importance and due to being part of the energy sector, offshore oil and gas installations are regarded as elements of ‘critical infrastructure’ in a number of countries.1
