Environment Report 2018

slight increase in 2017 to 22,700 tonnes per million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) produced. Improved production efficiency from existing assets has driven this trend, rising from a low of 60 per cent in 2012 to 74 per cent in 2017.

Since its peak in 2013 CO 2 per unit of production (carbon intensity) on the UK continental Shelf (UKCS) saw a

emissions

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This is a 6 per cent increase on 2016 . Over 1.3 million tonnes of gas were flared on the UKCS in 2017, often for safety reasons.

40% Gas venting saw a

increase in 2017, to 61,976 tonnes of gas.

Nearly a third of that total was due to a single installation which has been unable to flare due to incombustible gas emissions, where the CO2 content was too high to permit ignition. Nearly one-third of tha tot l was due to a single installation which has been unabl to flare due to incombustible gas emissions, where he CO 2 content was too h gh to enable ignition.

ACCIDENTAL RELEASES AND DISCHARGES

In 2017 there were 451 accidental releases of oil and chemicals , with a total mass of almost 279 tonnes reaching the marine environment. This is an improvement on 2016.

253

Of these, were accidental releases, totalling just over 23 tonnes of oil . The average mass of oil released per occurrence was less than 0.1 tonnes in 2017 , compared with an average of 0.57 tonnes per occurrence from 2010-17 . This represents less than 0.00003%

of total production.

the average mass of chemicals per release was 2.08 tonnes per release for the period since 2010.

1.3 tonnes ,

In 2017,

compared to an average of

Almost 256 tonnes of chemicals were accidentally released

in 198 incidents

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the majority (215 tonnes, 96 per cent)

were low hazard or PLONOR.

in 2017. Of these,

of the total mass of chemicals used, and 0.1% 0.27%

Accidental chemical releases represented less than

of the chemicals intentionally discharged under permit.

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