In the aftermath of the Brent Spar affair, in mid 1995, European E&P industry produced a co-ordinated response document setting out its position. The document was targeted at the media and interested parties outside the industry. It describes the industry’s position, sets out the options for decommissioning, discusses the complexities of finding the right balance between competing consider-ations, summarises the regulatory framework, and provides some facts to set the issue in perspective. Most importantly, the paper makes a commitment to be more open and transparent, and to enter into dialogue with interested parties.