Environmental Report 2000 Index

Next Section

Industry Regulation The UK Offshore Oil and Gas Industry provides employment and a stable energy supply for the UK and mainland Europe. It is a highly regulated industry, with some 200 sets of regulation applied across the range of its operations, and this regulation is subject to constant review as higher performance standards are expected and met. The production of oil and gas is an industrial process that results in certain emissions and discharges that are either unavoidable or technically difficult (and thus prohibitively expensive) to eliminate. However, many millions of pounds have been invested in measures to meet and exceed environmental performance standards through the lifetime of the facilities now installed on the UKCS. In our view, good environmental stewardship means assessing and monitoring the impact of our activities and finding ways to continuously improve performance by increasing fuel efficiency and reducing emissions and discharges. In considering how the industry might be regulated in the future, it will be important to ensure that new legislation brings progressive improvements in performance delivered cost effectively, without impairing the UK industry's competitive position. The industry believes that the preferred way forward lies in a holistic approach that considers the overall environmental position, rather than in a narrow application of regulation. Because each offshore installation operates under different conditions, the most appropriate solution in one situation could be absolutely wrong in another. It is necessary to look at the issues on a case-by-case and to make decisions based on a particular set of circumstances while always bearing in mind the need to balance impacts. An example of this is produced water: while it is undoubtedly desirable to reduce the proportion of oil in produced water discharged to sea, it makes little sense to do so if the process results in a significant increase in emissions to the atmosphere. This is why UKOOA and its member companies are in discussion with Government (particularly with the DTI) on the proposed new regulatory regime to be introduced under the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Act. The first piece of legislation under this act has been subject to broad discussion and exemplifies the holistic approach preferred by industry. The regulation controlling emissions from gas turbines is sufficiently flexible to allow improvements to be made where they make most sense. It is our belief that this approach to regulation offers the best balance between environmental performance improvement and maintenance of competitiveness. To do otherwise could be to put the future health of the industry at risk and lead to premature decline. The shortfall in production thus created would have to be made up elsewhere - possibly from another part of the world where environmental regulation is far less stringent. A list of relevant Legislation/Regulation is available in the 1999 UKOOA Environment Report.