OFFSHORE ENVIRONMENTAL BULLET POINTS
The oil and gas offshore
industry is not a significant polluter of the North Sea. It is
accepted that oil and gas activities can damage the environment
which is why, where such risks exist, suitable controls are
applied to protect any environmental sensitivities.
1998 sees the introduction
of new Environmental Assessment regulations which will further
protect the offshore environment and allow the public greater
access to environmental information
3 cases were referred to
the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland for further investigation
Over 300 hours of
unannounced aerial surveillance of offshore oil and gas rigs was
carried out with minimum amounts of oil detected
New computer link enables
surveillance aircraft to transmit photographic images of
pollution incidents
New regulations in 1998
will also call for mandatory approved oil spill contingency plans
for all offshore installations
62 offshore environmental
inspections were carried out between April 1997 and March 1998
Average content of oil in
produced water has fallen to 24.61 parts per million
The UK offshore industry
has accepted a proposal that, on a trial and voluntary basis, a
company specific target of 30 parts per million of oil in
produced water be implemented
The discharge of oil
contaminated drill cuttings effectively ceased with effect from 1
January 1997
A reduction programme for
phasing out the discharge of drill cuttings contaminated with
unacceptable synthetic drilling fluids has commenced
The UK hosted a successful
Workshop on Drilling Fluids in Aberdeen on 11 - 14 November 1997
The UK has a system of
voluntary chemical notification and classification which is
respected by many other countries and has resulted in a clear
positive effect on the types of chemicals being discharged
offshore
The Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI) has continued to participate in offshore
environmental research and development programmes
The UK agreed to the
protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change in Kyoto whereby all developed countries now have legally
binding targets to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases
The EU (including the UK)
has a commitment to reduce emissions by 8% below 1990 levels in
the period 2008 - 2012, hopefully via burden sharing among Member
States
Later this year the
Government will be consulting widely on the development of a new
climate change programme which will largely focus on our domestic
aim of 20% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2010. More information on the UK’s
offshore environmental regulations and the current initiatives
being undertaken to protect the offshore environment can be found
in Chapter 4.
Title
| Table of Contents
Chapter 1
| Chapter 2
| Chapter 3
| Chapter 4 |
Chapter 5 |
Chapter 6
| Chapter 7
| Chapter 8
| Chapter 9
Appendix 1
| Appendix 2
| Appendix 3
| Appendix 4
| Appendix 5
| Appendix 6
| Appendix 7
| Appendix 8
Appendix 9
| Appendix 10
| Appendix 11
| Appendix 12
| Appendix 13
| Appendix 14
| Appendix 15
| Appendix 16
| Appendix 17
Plate 1
| Plate 2W
| Plate 2E
| Plate 3W
| Plate 3E
| Plate 4W
| Plate 4E
| Plate 5W
| Plate 5E
| Plate 6
| Plate 7
Plate 8W
| Plate 8E
| Plate 9W
| Plate 9E
| Plate 10W
| Plate 10E
| Plate 11
| Plate 12