List of abbreviations; Contributors; List of figures and tables; 1. Introduction Michael Faure, Niels Philipsen and Hui Wang: 1.1 Background for this book; 1.2 Objective of this book; 1.3 Methodology; 1.4 Structure; 2. Offshore-related damage: facts and figures Kristel De Smedt and Hui Wang: 2.1 General issues concerning offshore activities; 2.2 Location of installations and facilities in the EU; 2.3 Overview of major offshore accidents; 2.4 Analysis of recent offshore accidents in Europe: case studies; 2.5 Analysis of recent offshore accidents outside EU waters; 3. Analysis of existing legal regimes Michael Faure, Jing Liu and Hui Wang: 3.1 Introduction; 3.2 International legal framework; 3.3 Offshore liability regimes; 3.4 The current EU regime on offshore activities; 3.5 Offshore liability regimes: country studies; 3.6 Another high risk sector: the nuclear; 3.7 Concluding observations; 4. Pooling mechanisms for offshore liability Michael Faure and Jing Liu: 4.1 Theory: pooling versus insurance; 4.2 OPOL; 4.3 OIL and OCIL; 4.4 Protection and indemnity clubs; 4.5 Risk pooling in the nuclear sector; 4.6 Concluding observations; 5. The use of financial market instruments to cover liability following a major offshore accident Michael Faure and Hui Wang: 5.1 Self-insurance; 5.2 Capital market; 5.3 Guarantees; 5.4 (Re-) insurance; 5.5 Risk pooling schemes; 5.6 OPOL; 5.7 Combinations; 6. Potential of financial and insurance instruments to cover liability following a major offshore accident Michael Faure and Hui Wang: 6.1 Potential costs of an offshore incident; 6.2 Self-guarantee through tax; 6.3 Expanding possibility of insurance?; 6.4 Potential of expanding risk pooling schemes; 6.5 Summary: flexibility; 7. Toward optimal liability and compensation for offshore oil and gas activities Kristel De Smedt, Hui Wang and Michael Faure: 7.1 Principles of efficient compensation and liability rules; 7.2 Efficient liability rules; 7.3 Liability versus regulation; 7.4 Mandatory financial security; 7.5 Compensation instrument; 7.6 Rapid claims management; 7.7 Transboundary harm; 7.8 Scenarios; 8. Concluding remarks Michael Faure, Niels Philipsen and Hui Wang: 8.1 General; 8.2 Efficient liability rules; 8.3 Mandatory financial security; 8.4 A role for government?; 8.5 Rapid claims mechanism; List of references; Annex 1. Overview of interviews with stakeholders; Annex 2. Checklist for country studies; Annex 3. Oil Pollution Act Liability Limits 2013.