Environment Report 2018

ENVIRONMENT REPORT 2018

2. Key Findings

INDUSTRY DISCHARGES AND EMISSIONS

3%

down by

on the previous year to 143 million cubic metres . This is because more produced water was injected in to the subsurface.

The amount of produced water

discharged to sea on the UKCS in 2017 was

Reinjection of produced water was up 10 percent on 2016 to 53 million cubic metres and is at its highest recorded level, as more companies deploy innovate techniques to enhance oil recovery and reduce the quantity of produced water discharged into the marine environment.

2,000 tonnes of oil

just over 0.001 per cent

Around

making up

were discharged to sea with produced water,

of the total mass of produced water discharged.

154 tonnes

65% 34%

of chemicals were discharged to sea per million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) produced in 2017, down from over 161 tonnes in 2016.

of this mass is derived from drilling activities which continues to see a decline in activity, is associated with production related activity and 1 per cent related to pipeline activities.

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The mass of drill cuttings discharged to sea increased in 2017 to 47,200 tonnes , an increase in comparison with the previous two years. were classified as Pose Little Or NO Risk (PLONOR) 71% Of the chemicals discharged to sea

and 7 per cent were candidates for substitution (SUB). Whilst the discharge of SUB chemicals saw a minor rise in 2017, the general trend continues to show a reduced usage, with the number of SUB production chemicals down to 211 in 2017.

fell 10%

to just under 152,200 tonnes in 2017 , mainly due to considerably less (18 per cent) sludges, liquids and tank washings being brought to shore in comparison to the previous year.

The amount of waste generated by the UK’s upstream oil and gas activity

Overall, the proportion of associated gas flared and vented has continued to fall since 2014 as newer installations are designed to flare less, and older platforms with routine flaring built-in are decommissioned.

7% Total greenhouse gas emissions from UK upstream operations increased in 2017 by

to 15.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) equivalent, contributing 3 per cent of the UK’s total emissions.

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