ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF THE …prodstoragehoeringspo.blob.core.windows.net/a0eb2198-56... · 2014-07-03 · ESIA OF ADDA AND TYRA N DEVELOPMENT 3/19 1 Introduction

ADDRESS COWI A/S

Parallelvej 2

2800 Kongens Lyngby

Denmark

TEL +45 56 40 00 00

FAX +45 56 40 99 99

WWW cowi.com

PROJECT NO. A052992

DOCUMENT NO. 1.0

VERSION 3

DATE OF ISSUE June 27 2014

PREPARED MORH

CHECKED AFJ

APPROVED TTAN

CONTENTS

1 Introduction 3

2 Scope 5

3 National and international legislation 6

4 Alternatives 7

5 Construction 7

6 Operation 8

7 The surrounding environment 8

8 Environmental impacts during construction 13

8.1 Discharges during drilling 13

8.2 Emissions 13

8.3 Laying of pipelines 13

8.4 Noise and Light 13

9 Environmental impacts during operation 14

9.1 Discharges of production water 14

9.2 Emissions 14

9.3 Physical presence of the platform 14

9.4 Noise and Light 14

9.5 Ship collision 15

MAERSK OIL

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF THE

CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF ADDA AND TYRA N

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY

2/19 ESIA OF ADDA AND TYRA N DEVELOPMENT

10 Environmental impacts from decommissioning 15

11 Environmental impacts from unplanned events 15

11.1 Blow out events 15

11.2 Pipeline ruptures 16

11.3 Other spills 16

12 Impacts on protected areas (Nature 2000

screening) 16

13 Socio-economic assessment 17

14 Cumulative impacts 18

15 Transboundary impacts 18

16 Mitigating measures 18

ESIA OF ADDA AND TYRA N DEVELOPMENT 3/19

1 Introduction

This document is a non-technical summary of the Environmental and Social Impact

Assessment (ESIA) of the development of the Adda and Tyra LC fields located in

the Danish sector of the North Sea.

Maersk Oil is the operator of the development project and the assessment is

carried out as required by Danish Law (Order no. 632 of 11th June 2012) on EIA,

consequence evaluation regarding international nature protection areas and

protection of certain species in connection with projects concerning hydrocarbon

production, pipelines, etc. at sea and on the continental shelf). The Danish Energy

Agency is the responsible authority.

The Adda field is located 250 km from the Danish west coast, approximately 10

km north of the existing facilities Tyra East and West. The Tyra LC field is located

5 km southwest of the Adda field (Figure 1-1).

Figure 1-1 Location of the Adda field in the Danish sector of the North Sea.

Gas and oil have been found in the area in chalk and limestone layers and in

profitable amounts and quality.


The development includes the construction of two unmanned platforms, Adda and

Tyra North LC (Tyra N), which will be connected to each other and the existing

nearby Tyra East facility through a pipeline system of 11.6 km.

Figure 1-2 Diagram of the Adda and Tyra LC field development and its connection to Tyra

East.

Up to 22 wells will be established on the two platforms, which will be controlled

and monitored from Tyra East. The production from the platforms will be

transported to Tyra East for processing and continued transport ashore.

Figure 1-3 The Tyra East facility.


2 Scope

The ESIA comprises assessments of the various phases of the project life cycle

from construction to operation and decommissioning. It includes:

› A technical description of the facilities, their construction and operation,

including installation of the platforms and construction of the wells, laying of

pipelines and processing of the production on Tyra East as well as the

dismantling of facilities at the end of the lifetime of the field

› A description of the relevant legislation and conventions in regard to the

project

› A detailed description of the environmental state in the project area and the

socioeconomic conditions, which potentially may be impacted by the project.

The former includes a screening of what fauna and flora live in the area from

microscopic plankton to whales

› An impact assessment and screening in regard to potential impacts on

protected areas during the lifecycle of the project

› An assessment of transboundary effects and possible mitigating activities

Figure 2-1and Figure 2-2 presents an overview of the activities during the

construction and operation phases of the project which are assessed in the ESIA, as

well as the environmental features which may be impacted.

Figure 2-1 Activities during the construction phase, which are assessed in the ESIA.


Figure 2-2 Activities during the operation phase, which are assessed in the ESIA.

The impact on the environment from the project activities during construction,

operation and decommissioning is assessed. The assessment is based on the nature,

size, duration , and geographical extent of the impact. Thereby, the environmental

impact can be characterized according to the following categories: i) No impact, ii)

Insignificant impact, iii) Minor impact, iv) Moderate Impact and v) Major impact.

3 National and international legislation

Danish law stipulates that an ESIA must be carried out for such a project in order

to obtain permission to extract oil and gas offshore. The requirement is stated in the

EIA EU directive, which is implemented in Danish Law.

Denmark has ratified several other international laws and conventions, which,

together with the national legislation, sets the framework and criteria for several

aspects of projects like the Adda/Tyra LC fields development. It involves the Act

on the Protection of the Marine Environment, the Offshore Safety Act, the Act on

CO₂ Quotas and EU directives on emissions and protected areas (Natura 2000) as

well as the Espoo and OSPAR conventions and the Marine Strategy Framework

Directive.


4 Alternatives

Maersk Oil has considered other options for the development of the Adda and Tyra

LC fields, including the 0-alternative which is no further development. The chosen

option was selected as the best possible alternative from a technical and

economical viewpoint as well as from a safety and environmental perspective.

5 Construction

The development of the Adda and Tyra LC fields will begin with the establishment

of the Adda platform, approximately 5 km north of the position of the Tyra N

platform. From the Adda platform, up to 16 wells will be drilled, while a maximum

of six are planned for Tyra N. The drilling of each well is expected to take about

120 days. It is planned that the first two wells will be drilled at Adda in 2015 from

a drilling rig, which is towed to the area and secured to the seabed on its own three

legs. The remaining wells will be drilled after installation of the Adda platform.

The construction schedule of the Tyra N platform and accompanying wells has not

yet been finalized.

Figure 5-1 Example of a drill rig, which can be used in the development of the Adda and

Tyra LC fields.

Several activities during the drilling and well construction process include the use

of materials and chemicals, which are either discharged to the sea or collected and

shipped to shore depending on their potential impact on the environment. The main

part of the discharges will be drilling mud and cuttings, which mainly consist of

material drilled out of the well.

Laying of pipelines will be done with a specialized vessel after a trench has been

made in the seabed.


Figure 5-2 Specialised pipe laying vessel.

6 Operation

The Adda and Tyra N production will be separated and transported to Tyra East. In

the separation process, oil , gas and production water containing oil substances and

other chemicals are separated. All discharges of production water and emissions

from the treatment processes will take place on Tyra East.

The Adda and Tyra N platforms will be remotely controlled from Tyra East.

Chemicals and power will also be delivered through a service pipeline (umbilical)

from Tyra East. Monthly maintenance visits will be made by ship from Tyra East,

and the pipelines will be maintained by pigging operations.

7 The surrounding environment

The part of the North Sea, where the Adda and Tyra N field (hereafter project area)

are located, has an average depth of 40 m and is dominated by east-going currents.

The water masses of the central and northern parts of the North Sea are fully mixed

during winter, but as the sun heats up the surface water in spring and summer,

stratification develops with heavy cold water at the bottom and warmer light water

in the surface. The stratification stops nutrient exchange between the layers. In the

autumn, the stratification is destroyed and the water column is remixed by water

movement induced by heavy winds.

In some parts of the North Sea frontal zones are created between water masses with

different temperatures, salinities or nutrient concentrations. Frontal zones are

created by tidal movement, wind or differences in salinity which create upward

movement of high nutrient bottom water. There is a relatively high biological


production in and around the frontal zones due to the increased access to nutrients

and they are thus important nursing grounds for fish and feeding areas for birds.

The project area is more than 100 km from the nearest typical frontal zone areas

and is characterized by a low biological productivity.

Figure 7-1 Areas with potential frontal zones.

Phytoplankton is an essential part of marine ecosystems in which the main part of

the primary production takes place. Plankton consists of pelagic phyto- and

zooplankton, varying in size from microscopic algae to millimeter sized fish larvae.

Plankton flows passively with sea currents. Some zooplankton species spend their

whole life cycle suspended in the water masses (holoplankton) and some are only

pelagic in the first larval stages of their life cycle (meroplankton). The latter may

be species of fish, sea stars, sea urchins, bristle worms, mussels, crabs, shrimps and

lobsters all of which possess a pelagic larval stage.

The phytoplankton of the North Sea and in the project area is dominated by

diatoms and dinoflagellates, their growth cycle is governed by stratification. There

is a spring bloom, while the water is still mixed and nutrients are available, but

when the water column is stratified, nutrients are quickly depleted in the surface

water where the light can penetrate. That causes a decline in phytoplankton

biomass. A smaller bloom can occur during autumn, when the water masses are

remixed and fresh nutrient rich water comes to the surface.

The zooplankton in the North Sea is dominated by copepods, which are found in

large numbers and are a food source for fish and other organisms including larvae

and adults of commercially important fish species such as herring and sprat. The

average water temperature of the North Sea is increasing and there are indications


of a shift in the composition of copepod species, which is coupled to the increase in

temperature. Smaller species from warmer waters migrate into the North Sea and

drive out the established species, which may in turn lead to decreases in the fish

species who feed on the established copepods.

Benthic fauna in the North Sea consists of a wide range of invertebrates such as

bristle worms, mussels, snails and crustaceans. The animals can be separated

according to their choice of habitat. The composition of benthic fauna in an area is

a result of complicated interactions between factors, including type of sediment,

oxygen conditions, sea currents, stratification, salinity, hazardous substances etc. In

the North Sea it is primarily the salinity and temperature of the bottom water

together with tidal patterns, which affect the composition and abundance of the

benthic community. The tolerance and preferences of the different species to the

mentioned factors varies at the same time as biological factors like predation,

competition for space and food and parasitism influence the composition. The

dominating species of benthic fauna in the project area are the crustacean

Bathyporeia elegans and the bristle worms Spiophanes bombyx and Chaeotozone

setosa.

The amount of bottom dwelling fish around the project area is relatively smaller

than in other parts of the North Sea. It is dominated by dab, grey gurnard, whiting

and sand eel. Herring, sprat and mackerel are the dominating pelagic species.

Dab is the most common flounder in the North Sea. Dab spawns from January to

September, with the main activity taking place from February to April. The largest

amount of eggs are found in the German Bight, north of the Frisian Islands and

along the southern part of Dogger Bank and off Flamborough Head. The project

area does not represent an important spawning area for Dab. Grey gurnard is also a

common bottom fish in the North Sea, but it is mostly caught as by-catch and is not

important for the fishing industry. In winter Grey gurnard is found in deep water in

the central North Sea and it migrates to the southeastern North Sea in spring to

spawn. Grey gurnard spawns in the project area. Whiting is common in large

numbers all over the North Sea, except at Dogger Bank and it is caught by

commercial fishermen. It spawns its pelagic eggs over longer periods starting in

January in the southern North Sea and in July in the northern North Sea. Whiting

spawns around the project area.

Herring is the dominating fish species in the water masses of the North Sea, both in

numbers and in economic value. Herring is found in large shoals close to the

bottom during the day and in the night it migrates to surface water to feed on

zooplankton, which is its primary food source. The species spawn their eggs on the

seabed where they adhere to rocks, stones and sand. Several herring stocks are

found in the North Sea, which spawn in different areas in different periods. The

largest stocks are the Bucanan, Dogger and Downs, all of which are far away from

the project area. Haddock is found primarily in the northern North Sea with a

southern border from northeastern England, along Dogger Bank to Skagerrak and

the inner Danish waters. Haddock spawns in deep water in the northern North Sea

and is a valuable fish caught together with cod and whiting. Sprat is a small pelagic

schooling fish, mostly found in shallow water and which is an important food item

for larger fish and is also caught for industrial purposes. Sprat is most common

south of Dogger Bank and in the Danish inner waters, but can also be found around


the project area. It spawns its pelagic eggs several times during spring and summer,

but mainly in May-June.

Besides dab, whiting and grey gurnard, the fish species which spawn around the

Adda field include cod, plaice, long rough dab and mackerel. The spawning

periods of the relevant fish species are summarized in Figure 7-2.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Cod

Whiting

Dab

Plaice

Long rough

dab

Grey gurnard

Mackerel

Figure 7-2 Spawning periods of the fish species, which spawn in the project area.

The North Sea is important for millions of sea birds, which find their food in the

area during migration or breed in coastal colonies. Sea birds normally find food in

shallow areas connected to banks and in areas of high biological productivity far

from the project area, such as Dogger Bank to the southwest and Little Fish Bank

and Skagerrak to the northeast (Figure 7-3). The average depth in the project area

is relatively deep at ca. 40 m and thus does not represent an important area for

seabirds. The area is visited by fulmar and kittiwake, gannets and guillemots. The

eastern part of the German Bight is the closest important bird area, where red- and

grey-throated divers, red-necked grebe, common scooter, little gull, common gull

and sandwich tern can be found.

Figure 7-3 Location of internationally important open sea areas for sea birds and coastal

areas important for birds.


Harbor porpoise, white-beaked dolphin and minke whale are the only species

which are regularly seen in the western part of the Danish sector of the North Sea

including the project area. Harbor porpoise is the most common whale species in

the North Sea with approximately 340,000 individuals. Most of the animals in

Danish waters are found in the inner Danish waters, Skagerrak and the waters off

Blåvandshuk. Harbor porpoise is also found in smaller numbers in the central

North Sea and in considerable numbers southwest of the project area close to

Dogger Bank. White-beaked dolphin is common in the western North Sea, but in

smaller numbers than Harbor porpoise. In Danish waters it is mainly seen in

Skagerrak, the northern part of the Danish sector of the North Sea and parts of the

central North Sea. The total population consists of approximately 8,000

individuals. Minke whale is the only baleen whale which is regularly seen in the

North Sea, and the total population number is estimated to approximately 8,500.

Harbor seals are observed in the Danish sector of the central North Sea. Harbor

seal lies mainly in coastal areas where they stay in remote and isolated areas and

seldom move further than 20 km away from the coast. Grey seal are also observed

in the Danish sector of the central North Sea. Grey seals feed primarily on fish like

sand eel, cod, whiting and flounders as well as herring and rays. The species breed

in several places along the English east coast and in the German Bight near Sylt,

Amrum and on Helgoland. Studies have shown that grey seals from British

colonies move far out in the North Sea, but are rarely observed in the Danish part

of the North Sea.

The most important commercial activities in the central North Sea are the oil and

gas production together with commercial fishing. The project area has some

importance for the Danish trawl fishery of sand eel, which goes on in April – July.

Fishing of plaice, cod and sprat is also taking place. The project area is of less

importance to fishing from other countries.

Figure 7-4 Harbor porpoises (mother and calf) close to Tyra East platform in May 2014.

Photo: Torsten Radberg.


8 Environmental impacts during construction

The development of the Adda and Tyra LC fields may potentially affect the

environment through discharges to the sea during drilling, cementing and

completion of wells and testing of pipelines. Activities related to laying down

pipelines may affect the seabed. Noise will be generated above and under water

during the construction and the areas will be lit up by artificial light. Furthermore,

emissions will arise from energy consumption and transport activities.

8.1 Discharges during drilling

The environmental impacts from planned discharges from drilling activity will be

limitedto the drilling period (about 120 days per well). The environmental impact

from discharges of mud and cuttings on water quality, plankton and fish is assessed

to be minor whereas it is assessed to have a moderate impact on benthic fauna. The

environmental impact from discharge of drilling chemicals on the water quality,

plankton and fish is assessed to be minor.

8.2 Emissions

The main part of project related emissions will occur in connection with drilling

and well testing which are going to be spread over several years. It will take place

in open sea where gases are emitted far away from populated areas and will be

dispersed rapidly. The emission of CO₂ during construction of the project equals

approximately 2% of the total emission by Maersk Oil activities in the North Sea

during 2013 and emission of other gasses (NOx, SOx, CH4 and nmVOC) equals

between 0.03 and 76% of the 2013 emissions by Maersk Oil activities. The

environmental impact of construction related emissions is assessed to be moderate.

8.3 Laying of pipelines

The environmental impacts of laying down 11.6 km pipeline from the Adda

platform to Tyra East via Tyra N will be limited to the trenched area and a 10-20 m

wide belt on each side. It is expected that benthic fauna will return to the area

within 0.5- 2 years after operations are terminated. The environmental impact of

pipeline laying on the benthic fauna is assessed to be minor.

8.4 Noise and Light

The most significant impact of noise is expected when ramming takes place before

a well is drilled of the platforms will be installed. These operations are planned to

last about 6-8 hours each. Marine mammals (harbor porpoise, whales, dolphins and

seals) will escape from a 20 km area from the area during rammin but are expected

to return when ramming operations are completed. There is a risk of hearing

damage to whales and sealsif there are found within 100 m of rammingHowever,

the risk is mitigated by applying a “soft start” procedure for which the ramming is

initiated with progressively increasing noise levels. Some marine mammals use

echolocation for navigation, but it is expected that they will not be affected by the

noise more than 1 km from the drilling rig. Under water noise from ships in the


area will only marginally affect fish and marine mammals.

Light may attract migrating birds at night, causing them to lose temporarily their

orientation and circling the rig. The environmental impact of noise and light to fish,

marine mammals and birds is assessed to be minor. Other animals are not expected

to be affected.

9 Environmental impacts during operation

Production operation may impact the environment through emissions and

discharges of produced water to the sea at Tyra East. The physical presence of the

platforms can have an impact and any noise and light generation during operation

can affect the environment. Finally, a potential impact can arise from ship

collisions with the platforms.

9.1 Discharges of production water

The risk of impact caused by discharged of produced water is based on computer

simulations which predict thee fate of the chemicals discharged with the produced

water based on the ir toxicity and persistence in the water. The risk assessment

concludes that the total amount of discharged produced water from Tyra East

including the amounts generated from the production at Adda and Tyra N may

affect the environment within a maximum distance of 13.6 km in a northeast

direction covering an area of 14 x 5 km. The environmental impact of the discharge

of produced water on water quality, plankton, fish and benthic fauna is assessed to

be minor.

9.2 Emissions

Production related emissions are primarily from generators and compressors on

Tyra East. It will take place in open sea where gases are emitted far away from

populated areas and will be dispersed rapidly. Emissions will vary considerably

during the project lifetime with an expected peak at year 6. The production will

produce a total annual emission of CO₂ equal to approximately 3% of the total

yearly emission in 2013 by all Maersk Oil facilities in the Danish North Sea. The

environmental impact of production related emissions is assessed to be moderate.

9.3 Physical presence of the platform

The physical presence of the platforms may affect the environment by occupying

small areas of the seabed, which will no longer be available for benthic fauna. The

platform legs may, however, act as artificial reefs covered by sessile animals and

attract fish and possibly harbor porpoise. The platform topsides may act as resting

place for migrating birds. The environmental impact of the presence of the

platforms on bottom animals is assessed to be minor.

9.4 Noise and Light

No significant noise will be generated from the platforms during operation and

lighting is reduced to navigational lights. Therefore, no impact is expected from

noise and light during operation.


9.5 Ship collision

The risk of collisions is assessed to be minimal as the platforms are placed away

from major traffic routes and are secured by navigational lights and surveillance.

10 Environmental impacts from decommissioning

The decommissioning of equipment and facilities is regulated by Danish law and

international conventions. The regulation sets the framework for handling

platforms, pipelines and other equipment. The project has an expected lifetime of

27 years after which it is expected that the platforms will be dismantled and the

parts transported ashore for reuse or recycling whereas the wells will be emptied

and closed with cement and pipelines emptied of oil and gas and cleaned. Buried

parts of the platforms and pipelines may remain in place. The decommissioning of

the equipment and facilities will follow legislation in force at the time of

decommissioning.

11 Environmental impacts from unplanned events

Unplanned events during construction and operation of the project which may lead

to environmental impacts have also been assessed. Unplanned events may include

oil and gas spills from blow-outs or pipeline ruptures where large or small amounts

of oil or gas are released to the environment. Such events are extremely rare, and

comprehensive technical measures are in place on the platforms to prevent and

control a blow-out event.

11.1 Blow out events

Based on statistical information, the probability of a blow-out during drilling is

extremely unlikely.

In a gas blow-out the environmental impacts are limited to a relatively small area

where the gas will rise to the surface and pose a risk to rig crews, platforms or

vessels and a high risk of fire and explosions. The environmental impact of a gas

blow-out at Adda or Tyra N is assessed to be moderate on air and water quality,

benthic fauna and fish.

The environmental impact assessment of an oil spill from a blow-out at Adda or

Tyra N is based on the worst case scenario. The oil spill model simulation takes

into account the oil type, spilled amounts, weather conditions together with

information of the fate of oil in seawater and its toxicity to animals and habitats in

the North Sea.

The environmental impact assessment from the oil in the water column or at the

water surface on water quality, plankton, fish and marine mammals is assessed to

be moderate whereas it is assessed to be significant for birds. It is further estimated

that up to ca. 30% of the oil may reach the sea bottom. The environmental impact

of the oil on the benthic fauna, including protected areas in German waters

southwest is assessed to be moderate.


There is a relatively high probability of the oil ending up on the coast of northern

Jutland. It is estimated that the oil may reach the coastline from Thy to Nissum

Fjord within a minimum of 5 days. The socio-economic impact of an oil spill on

tourism and fisheries is assessed to be minor. There is a relatively small probability

of oil reaching the Norwegian south coast with vulnerable areas of protected rocky

shores and also the Wadden Sea along the Danish, German and Dutch coasts. It

will take more than 28 days for the oil to reach these shores. After being in the

water for such a long time the oil will be weathered to form less degradable, less

toxic and non-adhesive tar balls.

The above assessment is based on the situation where no oil spill response is in

place. Maersk Oil has oil spill response equipment placed in Esbjerg dimensioned

to an oil spill of approximately 5,000 m³ per day in reasonable weather conditions.

The equipment can be mobilized immediately. If necessary, additional equipment

will be mobilised from Oil Spill Response Ltd (OSR) in Stavanger (Norway) or

Southampton (UK). Additional equipment such as floating booms, skimmers and

dispersants etc. can be mobilized from these sources on a short notice.

In summary, it is assessed that a gas or an oil blow-out events at Adda or Tyra N

may cause a significant impact on the environment, but due to their extremely low

probability the environmental risk is low.

11.2 Pipeline ruptures

The risk of a spill of oil or gas in case of a pipeline rupture is unlikely. If it occurs,

the pipelines will immediately be shut down as pipeline pressure is constantly

monitored from Tyra East.

11.3 Other spills

The platforms are unmanned and are supplied with chemicals through the pipeline,

and no chemicals are transported by ship, which makes the risk of a chemical spill

unlikely.

12 Impacts on protected areas (Nature 2000 screening)

Southwest of the Adda and Tyra LC fields is a German protected area covering

Dogger Bank. As an extension of that, a Dutch protected area stretches further

southwest. In the two areas the habitat type 1110 Sandbanks which are slightly

covered by sea water all the time and the two species 1351 Harbour porpoise and

1365 Harbour seal are listed in the basis for the designation. In the Dutch area,

1364 Grey seal is also listed in the basis for the designation.

Other protected areas in the North Sea include far away areas along the Danish and

German coastlines (Figure 12-1).

There are no planned discharges to the sea in relation to this project which are

expected to impact the German and Dutch Natura 2000 protected areas.


Figur 12-1 Protected areas in the North Sea.

Harbour porpoise and seals in the northeastern part of the Natura 2000 German

Dogger Bank areas might escape during ramming periods, however, it is expected

that they will return to the areas when ramming operations have been completed.

Modeling of the oil spill from the extremely unlikely event of a blow-out shows a

low risk of impact on the German and Dutch Natura 2000 areas. It cannot be ruled

out that the oil which might reach the areas would sink to the bottom and thereby

impact the protected habitats. However, it is expected that the environmental

impacts will be moderate and will not affect the capability of the areas to maintain

or reach a good preservation status. This is based on studies from other major oil

spills where bottom animals in similar areas were not significantly affected and/or

because oil is quickly degraded and the benthic fauna reestablish themselves fast in

the affected areas. The risk of impacts from a spill in other Natura 2000 protected

areas is extremely unlikely.

13 Socio-economic assessment

The ESIA contains an assessment of the derived socio-economic consequences of

the environmental impacts from the project. Focus has been on significant

economic consequences for people and businesses in the local area, which is

limited to the west coast of Jutland. In the analysis, two environmental impacts

with strong economic consequences have been studied: exclusion zones for

fisheries and oil spills from blow-outs. Both parameters may influence income

from fisheries and tourism. The socio-economic impact from exclusion zones

around platforms and pipelines is assessed to be insignificant. The socio-economic

impact from an oil spill on the fisheries and tourism is assessed to be minor. Project

related emissions on the physical condition of people or the income from fisheries

are assessed to be insignificant.


14 Cumulative impacts

Cumulative impacts are combined impacts from more than one project or ongoing

activities in a certain area over time. Relevant potential cumulative impacts in

relation to the development of the Adda and Tyra LC fields include mutual impacts

from this project with activities in other oil and gas fields as well as interactions

with other activities in the area such as fishing and shipping. The platforms i Adda

and Tyra N are located at least 5 km from the nearest platforms. Other temporary

impacts during construction such as noise and chemical discharges may affect the

environment in a larger radius from the platforms, but no activities with potential

long reaching impacts (>2 km) are planned to the closest platforms during the

project period. There are no cumulative impacts from discharges of process water

or emissions on Tyra East. Other studies have shown that the Adda and Tyra N lies

in an area of medium risk of causing cumulative impacts on other activities.

15 Transboundary impacts

The distance from the Adda and Tyra N to the German border is about 25 km.

Noise during the construction is the only planned activity which may reach across

that distance and its potential impact will be limited to the time necessary to

ramming (less than 8 hours per well). Other transboundary impacts are limited to

unplanned oil spill events where areas in Germany, Holland and Norway may

potentially be affected (se section 11).

16 Mitigating measures

Maersk Oil implemented an ISO 14001 standardized environmental management

system in 2010. Through that system, work is continuously being done to eliminate

or minimize emissions, discharges of oil or chemicals and the amount of waste

from exploration and production activities in the Danish sector of the North Sea.

Furthermore, Maersk Oil uses BAT (Best Available Technique) and BEP (Best

Environmental Practices) to the widest possible extent in order to minimize

environmental impacts.

Specific measures related to this project include the ongoing work of reducing

discharges, and in relation to noise during ramming, a 'soft start' procedure will be

used. Finally, Maersk Oil has an oil spill response set-up with equipment available

in Esbjerg and additional equipment will be mobilised from Oil Spill Response Ltd

(OSR). Additional equipment such as floating booms, skimmers and dispersants

etc. can be mobilized from these sources on a short notice. The OSR equipment is

primarily located in Southampton, England, but additional equipment is available

in Stavanger, Norway.

Furthermore, a series of efforts is implemented to mitigate and prevent pipeline

rupture and spills of oil and gas. They include i) corrosion protection of pipelines,

ii) routine surveillance of pipelines, iii) implementation of a 200 m safety zone

around pipelines to prevent bottom trawling equipment or anchoring to cause a

rupture and iv) installation of pressure alarms, which register potential ruptures and

forces immediate closure of pipelines from the platforms.


Figur 16-1 Overview of Maersk Oil’s approach to decrease its impact on the environment.

Documents

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF THE …prodstoragehoeringspo.blob.core.windows.net/a0eb2198-56... · 2014-07-03 · ESIA OF ADDA AND TYRA N DEVELOPMENT 3/19 1 Introduction