Monitoring Oil Pollution from Oil and Gas Installations in the North Sea

2015 ◽  
pp. 209-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

Summary and conclusions: environmental effects of North Sea oil and gas developments

1987 ◽  
Vol 316 (1181) ◽  
pp. 669-677 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Benthic Fauna ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Offshore Platforms ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

This Royal Society Discussion Meeting has examined the total environmental impact of a whole industry in a single geographical area. Land-based developments related to the exploitation of the North Sea oilfields and their social consequences have been substantial, although neither the worst fears nor the best hopes have been realized. An accommodation has been reached with the fishing industry in the affected area. Offshore platforms are a source of chronic pollution from production water, but in recent years there has been a marked increase in the use of oil-based drilling muds and it is estimated that 20 Mt per year of petroleum hydrocarbons are added to the sea in oil-contaminated drill cuttings. The effect of these additions has been studied in the laboratory, in mesocosms and in field surveys which, together, yield a consistent picture. Within a radius of a few hundred metres of a platform there is impoverishment of the benthic fauna. Close to the platform the production of anoxic conditions through smothering and the activity of sulphide-producing bacteria is probably more significant than the toxic effect of the oil-based muds. Outside this immediate zone of impact, the oil results in organic enrichment and enhanced populations of some of the fauna. The total area affected is, in the context of the North Sea, minuscule. There is no evidence that plankton is materially affected and the success of commercial fisheries dependent upon the plankton crop is more influenced by fishery practices than by any other factor. Seabird populations, about which there was formerly much concern, have not so far been affected by oil pollution in the North Sea. There is wide fluctuation in recruitment success, but populations of species thought most vulnerable to oil pollution are generally increasing. Although marine pollution research has yielded valuable insights into the responses of individuals, populations and communities to perturbation, natural as well as man-made, it is not likely that future problems associated with oil extraction from the sea will be as stimulating to fundamental research. Different problems relating to environmental pollution should now be addressed by marine scientists.

scholarly journals A prospective observational study of why people are medically evacuated from offshore installations in the North Sea

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. e037558
Author(s):  
Anne Waje-Andreassen ◽  
Øyvind Østerås ◽  
Guttorm Brattebø
Keyword(s):  
Observational Study ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Prospective Observational Study ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Record System ◽  
The North ◽  
Transport Services ◽  
Offshore Installations ◽  
Severity Scores ◽  
The North Sea

ObjectivesFew studies have described evacuations due to medical emergencies from the offshore installations in the North Sea, though efficient medical service is essential for the industrial activities in this area. The major oil- and gas-producing companies’ search and rescue (SAR) service is responsible for medical evacuations. Using a prospective approach, we describe the characteristics of patients evacuated by SAR.Design and settingA prospective observational study of the offshore primary care provided by SAR in the North Sea.MethodsPatients were identified by linking flight information from air transport services in 2015/2016 and the company’s medical record system. Standardised forms filled out by SAR nurses during the evacuation were also analysed. In-hospital information was obtained retrospectively from Haukeland University Hospital’s information system.ResultsA total of 381 persons (88% men) were evacuated during the study period. Twenty-seven per cent of missions were due to chest pain and 18% due to trauma. The mean age was 46.0 years. Severity scores were higher for cases due to medical conditions compared with trauma, but the scores were relatively low compared with onshore emergency missions. The busiest months were May, July and December. Weekends were the busiest days.ConclusionThree times as many evacuations from offshore installations are performed due to acute illness than trauma, and cardiac problems are the most common. Although most patients are not severely physiologically deranged, the study documents a need for competent SAR services 24 hours a day year-round. Training and certification should be tailored for the SAR service, as the offshore health service structure and geography differs from the structure onshore.

“SLIKTRAK”—A COMPUTER SIMULATION OF OFFSHORE OIL SPILLS, CLEANUP, EFFECTS AND ASSOCIATED COSTS

1977 ◽  
Vol 1977 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. Blaikley ◽  
G. F. L. Dietzel ◽  
A. W. Glass ◽  
P. J. van Kleef
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Cumulative Probability ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Well Location ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Input Variables

ABSTRACT The reasons are introduced for the development of a simulator sufficiently simple to enable weather data normally acquired for E & P operations to be used. “SLIKTRAK,” developed by Shell, applies a slick description and combat concept, developed within the E & P Forum for well blowouts in the North Sea, but applicable to other areas. This concept includes costs for cleanup, damages and the effect of phenomena such as evaporation and natural dispersion. These factors are based on industry experience and vary primarily with sea conditions. The computer programme simulates the continued creation of an oil spill and applies weather data to predict movements of each day's spillage for successive days at sea and quantities of oil left after each day until the oil either disappears or reaches a coastline. Cumulative probability curves for the oil volumes cleaned up, oil arriving at specified shores, total costs, etc., are produced by random selection of input variables such as well location, weather data, the possibility of well bridging etc., and repetition of simulated spill incidents over a large number of cycles. Trace-plots of individual spills may also be generated. In association with the E & P Forum's position as technical advisers to the North West European Civil Liability Convention for Oil Pollution Damage from Offshore Operations, a study based on the North Sea areas has been made. These results and further developments of the program are discussed.

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