Environment Report 2013

ENVIRONMENT REPORT 2013

2.

Offshore Oil and Gas Production and the Environment

To understand the relationship between oil and gas operations and the environment we must first define what we mean by the environment.

In simple terms the environment is the physical space (or habitat) that living organisms, including human beings, inhabit in water, in the air and on land. In reality, it is much more complex, as organisms interact with each other, with their natural habitat and with man-made structures.

Some people believe that human activities are not part of the natural environment and always have a negative effect. Others consider that humans and their activities are an integral part of the environment.

2.1 The Effect of Human Activities on the Environment Whichever view you take, there is the potential for human activities to influence the balance of the environment and it is essential to understand how this might happen so that any potential effects can be managed and minimised.

Living organisms essentially require three elements from their environment:

• The right physical space – temperature, light and surface to grow on • Access to energy or nutrition • Ability to reproduce

Human activities can affect these elements in many ways, such as:

• Physical disturbance – changes to habitat, removal of food supply • Contamination or pollution – changes to food supply or reproductive capability • Energy levels (light, heat, noise) – changes to habitat, ability to locate food or a mate

2.2 The Effect of Oil and Gas Activities on the Environment The exploration and production of oil and gas from offshore fields involves a range of processes that could potentially affect the environment. Like all industrial activities, these processes use materials and energy and produce a range of waste streams. Some of these are outlined below. During exploration using seismic survey techniques, energy, in the form of sound, is introduced into the environment and this has the potential to affect the habitat of marine mammals and fish. Because of this, surveys are carried out through a carefully controlled procedure, in accordance with government guidelines 2 , to ensure there is no long-term effect. Production of oil and gas requires structures to be placed on the seabed and through to the sea surface. These structures provide a hard physical habitat that may be very different to the surrounding natural habitat and can result in the growth of plant and animal communities that would not normally be there. There is much debate about whether these man-made biodiversity hotspots are good or bad for the environment.

2 JNCC guidelines for minimising the risk of disturbance and injury to marine mammals from seismic surveys. See http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/JNCC_Guidelines_Seismic%20Guidelines_Aug%202010.pdf

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