Sustainability Strategy Commitments

UKOOA Sustainability Strategy 2002 - First Report 4. Stewardship - Making Prudent use of Natural Resources 4.4 End Of Operations Legacy   Commitment No. 56 - Existing drill cutting accumulations We re-affirm our commitment to the Drill Cuttings Joint Industry Project to determine the Best Environmental Practice for drill cuttings piles.  The extensive programme of work includes surveying and characterisation of existing drill cutting piles, present environmental impact analysis, and performance assessment of in-situ and removal options.  This is in parallel with a programme of dialogue with stakeholders to discuss results. The performance of a range of management options will be compared for each of four test piles, covering the range of large and small, and water and oil based mud. Progress to date : achievements and difficulties encountered In February 2002 UKOOA released the conclusions of a £6 million research programme funded by the UK offshore oil and gas industry to find solutions for dealing with historic accumulations of drill cuttings on the seabed.  (See box for summary of conclusions of the study).  These conclusions were later presented at the 2002 meeting of OSPAR's Offshore Industry Committee in Cadiz for their consideration and this body is expected to reach a conclusion on the issue in 2003. The programme was launched in June 1998 by a consortium of oil and gas companies with cuttings accumulations beneath their offshore installations the legacy of nearly 30 years drilling activity.  Over 20 research organisations from around Europe were enlisted in the extensive three-year programme which included cuttings pile surveys, the development of a model to predict the fate of accumulations over time, the assessment of different management options for technical feasibility and a ten-day lifting trial at BP's North West Hutton platform.  BOX: Drill Cuttings Study The study was carried out in accordance with the principles set out by the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic and aimed to identify the Best Environmental Practices for dealing with cuttings using the Best Available Technologies (BEP and BAT).  The Industry met stakeholders annually to shape the direction of work and, subsequently, to review progress.  The overall programme was monitored independently by an international group of scientists led by Professor John Shepherd, director of the Earth System Modelling Initiative at the Southampton Oceanography Centre. The Reports main conclusions are: That a programme of surveying, sampling, analysis and long-term fate modelling is required to select an environmentally sound management option for a cuttings accumulation. That the management options include covering, retrieval and leaving accumulations in place to degrade naturally. That a one size fits all approach does not constitute the best environmental option and selection and implementation of the best environmental strategy for drill cuttings should be part of the consideration of the decommissioning programme of an offshore oil and gas installation. That the determination of the best environmental strategy will require consideration of both the science of environmental impact and the impact of the cuttings accumulation on other users of the sea.  It will also require value judgements around what is and is not acceptable in terms of the various environmental impacts each management option would have on the land, sea and air. That these judgements are best made following public consultation. The study shows that hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon containing materials are the prime contaminants in cuttings accumulations, and that the long-term fate of piles is determined by the physics of ocean currents and wave movement.  UKOOA therefore suggests assessing the significance of an accumulations environmental impact by considering the rate of loss of hydrocarbons to the water column, the area of the seabed where the biological impact of the cuttings can be measured and the rate at which this area changes over time.  UKOOA suggests thresholds which could be used in the assessments, but recognises that local issues such as spawning grounds would need to be considered and emphasises the need for public consultation. Next commitment [57. Decommissioning - dialogue, potential reuse] Previous commitment [55. Energy Efficiency] Commitment listing

Sustainability Strategy Commitments