producers complying with this new wave of regulation will be outweighed only by the even more significant costs of non-compliance. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States and similar bodies globally as well as many state and local agencies have greatly increased both their enforcement capabilities and activities. Most environmental laws carry criminal charges. Because of this many operations personnel and members of senior management of large companies have found themselves on the wrong side of environmental enforcement actions through ignorance to the increasingly complex requirements and the severe consequences of violating environmental laws. International treaties, like the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), administered by the International Maritime Organization and implemented in many countries as legislation (such as the US Oil Pollution Act of 1973) place mandatory restrictions, recording, and penalties for the spilling of oil from ships. In 1967, the Torrey canyon incident off the coast of Britain leaked massive amounts of oil into the ocean. Among the many issues this incident highlighted, was the issue with economic compensation. As the existing laws did not allow the British and French government to sue the responsible corporation for adequate compensation. Today, there are several regulations, such as the clean water act, and International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (CLC) that provide a framework for how to deal with the issue of compensation. The regulations aim to identify who is the responsible party, what are damages they must compensate for, and who are the parties should receive compensation. There are also non-government organizations that deal with oil spill compensation claims, like the international tanker owners pollution federation Limited (ITOPF), a non-profit organization. Though international regulations, like CLC exists and are widely adopted, they do not apply everywhere. The U.S for example, have contributed to the creation of the CLC, but is not a signatory of the CLC because they have extensive national regulations, like the clean water act and oil pollution act that they rely on instead, while China only has implemented parts of it. Technologies Hydrocarbon producing wells are designed and managed on the basis of the 'barriers' in place to maintain containment. A 'dual barrier' philosophy is typically used whereby two independently verified barriers to the hydrocarbon reservoir and the environment are required at all times. The failure of a single barrier would not lead to a hydrocarbon