Environment Report 2018

Figure 2: Total Produced Water Discharged to Sea and Reinjected versus Production

2,000

300

Produced Water Discharged Produced Water Reinjected Production

1,800

250

1,600

1,400

100 Produced Water (Million m 3 ) 150 200

1,200

3

1,000

800

600

Production (Million boe)

400

50

200

0

0

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016 2017 Source: EEMS October 2018

International Comparison

The International Association of Oil &Gas Producers (IOGP) reports that 0.5 tonnes of produced water were discharged and 0.8 tonnes were reinjected per tonne of hydrocarbon produced globally (both onshore and offshore) by IOGP member companies in 2017. 2 In comparison, 1.7 tonnes of produced water were discharged and 0.6 tonnes re-injected per tonne of hydrocarbon produced on the UKCS during the same period. This reflects the maturity of the UKCS and its technically challenging environment compared with other basins around the world. It is therefore to be expected that more produced water is generated in the UK than the global average. 2.3 tonnes of produced water were generated per tonne of hydrocarbon on the UKCS in 2017, compared with 0.9 tonnes of produced water per tonne of hydrocarbons on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). 3 This is because many of the larger fields in Norwegian waters are yet to reach the high levels of watercut as a percentage of total production, and new fields with high levels of daily production are continuing to come on-stream. Twenty-three per cent of produced water on the NCS is reinjected into the sub-surface, a similar amount to the UK, which reinjected around 27 per cent.

23

2 See IOGP Environmental Performance Indicators 2017 data https://www.iogp.org/bookstore/product/2017e-environmental-performance-indicators-2017-data/ 3 See Norsk Olje & Gass Environmental Report 2018 at https://www.norskoljeoggass.no/globalassets/dokumenter/miljo/miljorapporter/environmental-report-2018.pdf

11