Marine: Cleaner Seas report
Inputs from land
Offshore minerals
There are approximately 200 oil and gas production platforms in the UK sector of the North Sea, producing 130 million tonnes of oil and 85,400 million cubic metres of gas each year. According to the latest UK industry survey, the oil and gas industry directly employs 31,000 people and indirectly employs 382,000 people.Legislation being introduced by the Government will require offshore operators to assess the potential environmental impacts of all significant new oil and gas developments. The discharge of oil based mud cuttings ceased with effect from 1 January 1997 and operators have also agreed to a voluntary phased reduction programme for discharges of most synthetic drilling muds. The principles of Best Available Technology are applied in respect of equipment handling produced water in order to minimise the oil content of the discharges.
The general trend for accidental oil spills into the sea from oil and gas installations is declining, with the majority of spills being less than 1 tonne in size. This is confirmed by reports from the counter pollution aerial surveillance aircraft.
The UK attaches importance to reaching agreement on the future international arrangements to be applied to the disposal of disused offshore oil and gas installations.
The Government holds the view that disused offshore installations should be removed to land wherever it is safe and practicable to do so. To date, thirteen decommissioning programmes relating to eighteen offshore installations have been implemented. Each installation has been re-used or recycled.
Sand and gravel dredged from the seabed provides an alternative source to opening more aggregate extraction sites on land. Licences for such dredging take account of the impact that they may have on life in the sea.
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Page last modified:
01 March 2005
Page published: 21 September 1988