MOIG was initiated by the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA), following a joint Oil Spill Response Seminar by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and IPIECA in Cairo in 1992, where a commitment was made to set up an industry network in the Mediterranean region.   The first MOIG meeting took place in Rome in April 1995.

Officially institutionalised in Tunisia, MOIG provides a regional oil industry forum concentrating on oil spill preparedness and response for the Mediterranean Region.  It provides a regional industry interface with the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) and with the global oil industry via IPIECA.

IPIECA and the IMO formally launched a joint programme known as the Global Initiative (GI) in 1996 with the aim to enhance oil spill preparedness and response capacity for marine spills at priority locations around the World.

GI Aims:

1. Assist countries in developing a national structure for oil spill response and preparedness
2. Encourage the ratification and implementation of Conventions including:
   • the International Conventions on Oil Pollution, Preparedness, Response and Cooperation, 1990 (OPRC Convention);
   • and the Conventions relating to Liability and compensation 1992 Civil Liability Convention (CLC) and 1992 Fund Convention

The Global Initiative operates with a focus on regional activities and a continued emphasis on finding better and more effective ways for the partners to work together to ensure sustained results. The Initiative encompasses focal points for the Mediterranean Sea, Caspian & Black Seas and West and Central Africa regions, each with a designated project manager, to help build local capacity, interest and political will for the development and implementation of effective contingency plans. MOIG is the GI group for the Mediterranean region.

Looking to the future, there are plans to develop a similar project for the East Asian Seas region. The regionalisation of the Global Initiative drives progress at a faster rate and delivers more effective and sustainable contingency plans to these priority regions.

Over the years, the active engagement of GI participants in the planning and delivery of regional workshops and training courses around the world has contributed to the promotion of best practice for oil spill preparedness and response; the ratification of OPRC and relevant conventions; and has encouraged better and more frequent communication and cooperation between Government and industry.