scholarly journals The past, present, and future of the regulation of offshore chemicals in the North Sea—a United Kingdom perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 1157-1166 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Sühring ◽  
A Cousins ◽  
L Gregory ◽  
C Moran ◽  
A Papachlimitzou ◽  
...  

Abstract The North Sea is one of the most studied and exploited ecosystems worldwide. The multiple uses from industrial, transport, as well as recreational activities have required researchers, regulators, and legislators to understand and, where possible, to minimize any expected negative environmental impacts. As with any international sea, assessing the current pressures and management actions resulting from these activities is centred on several national and international legislative instruments. This variety of co-existing legislations makes development processes and regulatory assessments cumbersome and time consuming. Hence there is a need to integrate environmental risk assessment and management across sectors, ensuring smart, cost-effective data generation, as well as supporting and standardizing environmental practices. This paper provides an overview of the changing regulatory frameworks regarding offshore chemicals used in the oil and gas industry, and the process of chemical risk assessment conducted under the Offshore Chemical Notification Scheme (ONCS) in the UK. Our view of methodological, research, and regulatory needs and challenges that should be addressed to ensure an adequate and sustainable assessment of offshore chemical use in the North Sea is discussed. Furthermore, we discuss the issues faced regarding chemicals used in the UK oil and gas sector with respect to declining hydrocarbon production.

2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 498
Author(s):  
Mike Lynn ◽  
Alan Samuel

In the last 12 months or so, particularly with the drop in oil price, there’s been a lot of speculation about the future of the Australian oil and gas industry. Strenuous efforts are being made to bring down costs, reduce complexity and expedite the completion of major capital projects. Yet with the commodity price looking likely to be subdued for some time, serious questions persist. How can we sustain activity in Australia, secure the investment needed to continue exploration and appraisal drilling, for the next wave of projects? In looking for answers to these challenges, collaboration is a theme that comes up time and time again. But what does it actually mean? What does it look like in practice? Who does it well and how? And which companies are reaping the rewards of great collaboration? To fill this knowledge gap we are launching a survey which will look at many aspects of collaboration in the Australia and compare this with the results of similar surveys conducted in the UK. We will be looking to survey both operators and service companies working in the Australia and find out: What does collaboration mean? What constitutes effective collaboration? How do companies view themselves and each other as collaborators? How does collaboration in Australia compare with companies in the North Sea? We hope a better understanding of collaboration could help companies in Australia continue to improve productivity and efficiency, adopt new ways of working, and truly make the most of Australia’s abundant resources.


1991 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stewart Brown

The petroliferous sedimentary basins of the UK Continental Shelf are remarkable for the diversity of their reservoir strata. Reservoir rocks in fields currently in production range in age from Devonian to earliest Eocene, but significant hydrocarbon discoveries have also been made in rocks as as young as the mid-Eocene. The reservoirs are predominantly siliciclastic rocks, with facies ranging from continental fluvial and aeolian, to marine gravity flow deposits from sub-wave base environments.In this paper stratigraphic context of the producing horizons in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), principally the North Sea, is reviewed, and the sedimentation of the reservoir strata placed in an outline geological history. The main producing horizons are described in summary. Matters of stratigraphic terminology and correlation both between fields and between basins are discussed.A lithostratigraphy for the UK southern North Sea was established by Rhys (1974), and for the central and northern North Sea by Deegan & Scull (1977). Although these schemes have proved to be fairly robust, in the last 13 years the acquisition of new data plus a proliferation of new terms not fully documented in the public domain, argue strongly for a comprehensive revision and rationalization which is beyond the scope of this paper. Attempts in the public domain to standardize nomenclature across international boundaries in the North Sea, pursued by Deegan & Scull (1977) for the UK and Norwegian sectors, have lapsed for the most part in subsequent years.Economic basement in the UK North Sea can be regarded at present


2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 488-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Gluyas ◽  
P. Arkley

AbstractThe abandoned Innes Field was within Block 30/24 on the western margin of the Central Trough in the UK sector of the North Sea. Hamilton Brothers Oil Company operated the licence, and Innes was the third commercially viable oil discovery in the block after Argyll and Duncan. It was discovered in 1983 with well 30/24-24. Three appraisal wells were drilled, one of which was successful. Oil occurs in the Early Permian Rotliegend Group sandstones sealed by Zechstein Group dolomites and Upper Jurassic shale.The discovery well and successful appraisal well were used for production. Export of light, gas-rich crude was via a 15 km pipeline to Argyll. Innes was produced using pressure decline. It was abandoned in 1992 having produced 5.8 MMbbl of oil and possibly 9.8 bcf of gas. Water cut was a few percent.Innes was re-examined between 2001 and 2003 by the Tuscan Energy/Acorn Oil and Gas partnership with a view to tying the field back to the newly redeveloped Argyll (Ardmore) Field but marginal economics and financial constraints for the two start-up companies prevented any further activity. Enquest currently owns the licence and the company has redeveloped Argyll/Ardmore, as Alma. There are no plans to redevelop Innes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly lliffe

Abstract The UK was the first major industrialised nation to commit to a Net Zero target by 2050, and Scotland has an even more ambitious target to reach Net Zero by 2045. To realise these targets, hydrogen will play a leading role in the decarbonisation of multiple sectors including industry, transport, heat and power. Offshore wind can be a core component of our future energy infrastructure, and the scale of its potential role in hydrogen production has recently drawn wider attention from policy makers, developers and potential users across a range of sectors. Hydrogen as a route to market for offshore wind therefore presents a transformative opportunity for the North Sea oil and gas sector and the associated UK supply chain. Existing skills and infrastructure in this region can be leveraged to achieve a leading position in this emerging clean fuel source. This opportunity is particularly relevant for sites in the North Sea which are further from shore with good wind resource, where power transmission costs and/or losses would be prohibitive. Additionally, hydrogen offers an interesting route to market for projects unable to obtain firm grid connection, for sites in regions with high grid charges, or where sufficient government revenue support for conventional power generation is not available for all good quality sites.


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