Oil spill preparedness

Oil spills
Oil spills represent a potential risk during oil and gas activities. The environmental impact of an offshore oil spill will depend on a number of factors which include the quantity and nature of the oil spilled and its behaviour at sea; the weather conditions and season; the method used for the clean-up response and the ecological nature. Oil spilled at sea will break up and will disperse into the marine environment over time. This dissipation is the result of several weathering processes, including evaporation, dispersion, dissolution, emulsification, sedimentation and sinking and biodegradation.

Experience in the North Sea has shown that, because of the natural processes, there is very little risk that oil spilled from an offshore location will reach and impact a shoreline. However, this does not remove the need for good oil spill management.

Oil spill management
Lundin Petroleum has a robust oil spill management system in place to ensure that risks are properly assessed and that competence and capacity exist to prevent and, if need be, to manage oil spills. Elements of the management system include oil spill contingency plans developed on the basis of impact studies and training of staff to prevent and remediate spills. Arrangements are in place with oil spill response organisations such as Norwegian Clean Seas Association for Operating Companies (NOFO) in Norway, in order to be able to count on their assistance in the event of a spill. As an additional precautionary step, Lundin Petroleum has a contract with Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) to ensure fast and efficient remedial actions in the event of a spill.

New maritime radar system on Edvard Grieg
On the Edvard Grieg platform in the North Sea a new Oil Spill Detection radar system (OSD) has been installed, which is able to detect even very small oil spills, as well as recognising other sea clutter, and produce clear and effective information that can be acted upon quickly. This is the first operational system that has the ability to detect oil spills at sea within a wide range of weather conditions, including quiet and coarse sea states.