Environment Report 2016

Appendix

7.1 Produced Water and Chemicals

Regulatory Landscape

Discharging of produced water is carefully controlled through the Offshore Petroleum Activities (Oil Pollution

Prevention and Control) Regulations 2005 (OPPC regulations)

, which prohibit the discharge of oil to sea other

than in accordance with the terms and conditions of a permit. Operators of offshore installations must identify all

planned oil discharges to relevant waters and apply for the appropriate OPPC permits.

Discharge of chemicals into the marine environment is governed in the UK under the Offshore Chemical

Regulations 2002

(as amended 2011)

. The offshore oil and gas industry uses chemicals in the exploration and

production of hydrocarbons. Usage is kept strictly to the amounts required for the designated task to avoid waste

and to reduce environmental impact. These chemicals can be split into three main groups: drilling chemicals,

production chemicals and pipeline chemicals. BEIS (formerly the Department of Energy and Climate Change) must

permit these discharges in advance through approval of drilling, production and pipeline operations applications

submitted to its Oil Portal.

The Offshore Chemical Regulations 2002 (as amended) were introduced to implement the OSPAR

recommendation for a harmonised mandatory control system for the use and discharge of chemicals by the

offshore oil and gas industry. This is the overarching legislation to manage chemical discharges offshore.

Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH)

is also a key piece of EU legislation

that addresses the production and use of chemical substances, and their potential impacts on human health and

the environment.

Only chemicals that have been registered with the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science’s

(CEFAS) Offshore Chemical Notification Scheme (OCNS) are permitted for use and discharge. The OCNS applies the

OSPAR Harmonised Mandatory Control Scheme (HMCS), developed through OSPAR Decision 2002/2 (as amended

by OSPAR Decision 2005/1) and its supporting recommendation. The OSPAR HMCS contains a list of chemicals

considered by OSPAR to Pose Little Or NO Risk (PLONOR) to the environment, as well as those for which there is

a substitution warning (SUB) where a less environmentally hazardous alternative should be used if practicable.

Operators must consider these classifications and others within the CEFAS OCNS scheme as part of their risk

assessment on chemical discharge. The REACH Enforcement Regulations 2008 require users, manufacturers and

importers of substances to evaluate and control the risks associated with their use.

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