Environment Report 2016

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ENVIRONMENT REPORT 2016
2. Executive Summary
The UK offshore oil and gas industry is a major hazard sector and is committed to maintaining operations
that minimise the effect on the natural environment. Environmental performance is monitored using a number
of metrics.
Industry Emissions and Discharges
• The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) regulates all emissions and discharges from
the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) and operators must apply for a permit to produce emissions to air or discharges
to sea. As part of the permit application, the potential environmental effects and any mitigation measures need
to be considered.
• Discharges and emissions are closely monitored offshore by operating companies and are recorded in the
Environmental Emissions Monitoring System (EEMS)1 database. Since 2000, there has been an overall downward
trend in discharges and emissions. This mirrors the decline in UKCS oil and gas production, but it is also the result
of process management and application of the best available techniques by industry.
• In 2015, however, the production upturn for the first time in 15 years resulted in a rise in producedwater volumes,
production chemicals discharged to sea and in atmospheric emissions, although this was proportionally less than
the 10 per cent increase in production, reflecting the industry’s commitment to environmental management.
• Produced water comes to the surface with hydrocarbons during production. Last year, the increase in production
resulted in a rise in the volumes of produced water handled on the UKCS to 202 million cubic metres. This is a
7.5 per cent increase in produced water compared with the 10.4 per cent growth in production. It is also
important to note that hydrocarbons are harder to reach and extract in a mature basin generating large volumes
of produced water.
• Since 2000, however, there has been an overall 37 per cent decrease in the volume of produced water discharged
to sea from 263 million cubic metres to 165 million cubic metres.
• The average concentration of oil discharged with produced water across the industry was 14.2 milligrammes/litre
last year – less than half the OSPAR2 recommended limit. Around 2,300 tonnes of oil were discharged with produced
water, accounting for just over 0.001 per cent of the total mass of produced water discharged.
• The average concentration of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) in produced water remains
consistently and significantly below the 0.1 Bequerel per millilitre (Bq/ml) limit by an order of one hundred.
Operators are required to notify the relevant environment agency for levels above 0.1 Bq/ml.
• Seventy-two per cent (approximately 74,000 tonnes) of the total chemical discharges on the UKCS
(just over 102,500 tonnes) in 2015 were classified as those that Pose Little Or NO Risk (PLONOR) to the
environment. Just 6 per cent (around 6,100 tonnes) had a substitution (SUB) warning3.
1 See
2 The OSPAR Commission aims to protect and conserve the North East Atlantic and its resources. See
3 SUB chemicals are those classified as harmful under the Offshore Chemical Notification Scheme. These
substances should be phased out and substituted with a less harmful chemical. See