Environment Report 2018

(PLONOR) to the environment

The Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning

of the UK's total emissions to 143 million cubic metres in 2017

5. Accidental Releases

Environmental Performance Bench

Of the chemicals discharged to sea under permit,

Total greenhouse gas emissions comprise

The amount of waste generated offshore decreased by 10% in 2017

The proporƟon associated gas flar conƟnues to fal Accidental Oi

3 %

Average concentraƟon of oil in produced water was 15.3mg/l

Average chemical discharge per operator down nearly 4% Accidental oil releases represented

71%

In Summary T he UK oil and gas industry does its utmost to minimise accidental oil and chemical releases by addressing the plant, process and people elements that could prevent or mitigate such releases. The industry invests in these barriers through maintenance programmes to ensure the integrity of equipment; the provision of multiple physical barriers, such as downhole safety valves, closed drains, and bunding; through development of handling procedures that minimise the potential for releases; and in ongoing staff training and competence management to ensure personnel manage any risks to the environment. Through Oil & Gas UK forums and work groups, its members are encouraged to share experiences from incidents and lessons learnt. Despite these efforts, some accidental releases to sea still occur. Safety legislation requires that certain hydrocarbon or chemical releases — generally those with potential to cause significant harm to the safety of personnel — are reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Environmental regulations go further, stating that any and every hydrocarbon or chemical release that reaches the marine environment, regardless of size or potential to cause harm, must be reported to OPRED through the submission of a Petroleum Operations Notice 1 (PON1). Furthermore, every offshore installation has an oil pollution emergency plan (OPEP), approved by OPRED, setting out arrangements for responding to incidents to minimise the effect of releases. The plan takes into consideration the type of oil produced at the installation, the well flow rates and the inventory, possible scenarios for releases, environmental sensitivities, and whether and where any large oil release might reach the shoreline. Accidental oil releases represented of total producƟon in 2017 0.00003% Average concentraƟon of oil in produced water was 15.3mg/l Average chemical discharge per operator down nearly 4% Accidental chemical releases Accidental oil releases represented were cl ssified as those that Pose LiƩle Or No Risk (PLONOR) to the environment of the UK's total emissions

0.00003%

m

Environmental Performance Benchmarking

Accidental chemical releases The average total emissions per installaton fell in 2017 of total producƟon in 2017

Accidental Oil and Chemical Rel

5

oilandgasuk.co.uk/enviro

make up less than 0.27% of the total chemicals disharged offshore

o

Accidental Oil a d Chemical Releases

of all accidental chemical releases fell into the low risk or PLONOR categories 96%

oilandgasuk.co.uk/environmentreport

0.00003%

make up less than 0.27% of the total chemicals disharged offshore

of total producƟon in 2017

39

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