| Popis: |
With the aim to reduce the impact from discharges to the sea from offshore oil and gas activities by the year 2005, a zero discharge work was started by the authorities in 1997. The initiation of the work was a White Paper from the Norwegian Ministry of Environment: Environmental Policy for a Sustainable Development (1996–97), in combination with the objectives agreed upon at the North Sea Conference in Esbjerg, Denmark in 1995. In order to reach the zero discharge goal by the year 2005 as stated in the White Paper, a Zero Discharge Philosophy project was also initiated in 1997. Norwegian authorities, oil companies and the supply industry took part in this joint effort project which was a part of the zero discharge work. The report from the project which ended in 1998, concluded that the aim of the zero discharge work is to reduce the impact, and not necessarily the discharges themselves, either by reducing the content of harmful components in the water, or the amount of chemicals and water itself. In addition, a reduction in the discharges offshore should not lead to increased pollution in other areas. For instance, if transportation to shore is chosen, increased emissions to air and the consequences of handling the waste on land should be considered. As a part of the zero discharge work and based on the results from the Zero Discharge Philosophy project, the operators were required to look into existing offshore activities to evaluate possible initiatives to reduce the impact from the discharges. Most of the proposals have been connected to traditional lines of thinking such as reducing the use of chemicals in the water treatment plants, injection instead of discharges of produced water, and different cleansing techniques for oil and chemicals. The operators have to implement measures according to the plans they have presented to the authorities. Their efforts will be followed closely, and formal requirements will be imposed in 2003 if their actions do not seem to be sufficient to reach the goal of no harmful discharges to the sea by the year 2005. |
