Marine Hydrocarbon Discharges – Introduction and Background

Marine hydrocarbon discharges can occur through either accidental release of oil to the marine environment (e.g. an oil spill), or as an operational discharge such as oil in produced water (see Produced Water). The majority of oil spills at installation level result in less than 1 tonne of oil being released – in an open sea environment, this is likely to have a negligible impact. However, all oil spills are recorded and reported to BERR.

Marine Hydrocarbon Discharges – Key Statistics and Commentary

The total amount of hydrocarbons discharged decreased by over 300 tonnes between 2004 and 2005.

UKCS Total Discharge of Hydrocarbons, all sources, 2001-2005

All operators are required to have contingency plans in place to respond effectively to any oil spill.

2006 records show that 297 spills were recorded, releasing 61.03 tonnes of oil to the marine environment.

Oil Spills from UKCS Installations 2002-2006

Marine Hydrocarbon Discharges – Supplementary Statistics and Commentary

For further information on oil spill reporting, please see the Oil & Gas UK Environmental Legislation website at http://www.ukooaenvironmentallegislation.co.uk/Index.htm or BERR Oil and Gas Pages http://www.og.dti.gov.uk

For further information on responses to oil spills and industry’s response to them, please visit OSRL (Oil Spill Response Limited) http://www.osrlearl.com/