Striking a Balance Index

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4.1 Overall Impacts Progress to date: achievements and difficulties encountered Figure 33 Developments in technology have transformed how new oil and gas fields are being and will be developed: Topic Then 1960s - 1970s Now and Future 2000 - 2010 Reservoir & Wells Many vertical wells Platform wells only, labour intensive Few, if any, separate subsea wells 2D seismic Low recovery rates Fewer wells: vertical and horizontal Top driven advanced drilling rigs Extended reach drilling (10km) Coil tubing drilling Smart wells Many sub sea tie-backs Enhanced oil recovery techniques 3 or 4D seismic Much higher recovery factors Facilities Multi-sited platforms Multi-modular construction and hook up Many local control sites on each platform Large accomodation for c. 100 people Tropospheric communications Steel pipework No platform - two phase subsea pumping or one centrally located platform/FPSO Integrated facilities - full onshore commissioning Automated plant, remotely controlled Minumum manning (c. 20) Fibre optic communications Alloy & composite pipework HSE Prescriptive safety rules and regulations All produced water disposed into sea Extensive flaring of gas Safety Case regime Environmental Impact Assessments Minimal produced water discharged into sea Minimal regular flaring Operations Dedicated boats and helicopters Single discipline tradesmen Shared logistics Emergency response integrated with other operators Multi-skilled operators Sustainable Development Action Plan Engagement in the use of our product Although the final consumption of our products occurs a number of steps down the value chain from our own activities, we recognise that many expect our industry to take more responsibility for the use of our products in society. Figure 4 on page 12 in Section A explains the structure of our industry and the fact that a separate trade association, the UK Petroleum Industry Association (UKPIA), represents the downstream industry. Discussion on how best to take forward this debate by the UK operating companies has led to the following commitments: As UKOOA, we will communicate the linkages between ourselves and other companies and bodies involved with our products and add this to the UKOOA web-site during 2001. During 2001, a number of the integrated members of UKOOA will explore the issues of sustainability with their company's downstream operations, and will share learning points from these discussions. In addition, some companies are exploring other possible forums for hosting a debate around the overall consideration of the full value chain. Whole life cycle impact of upstream operations The various initiatives in this section illustrate the steps we are taking towards understanding the full picture of the whole life cycle impact of our operations in terms of resources used (inputs) and the products and wastes generated (outputs). (See relevant initiatives under the separate sections headed Design for Environment, Energy and Wastes, and End of Operations Legacy.) In 2002, we will review all these elements together to obtain a fuller understanding of the total picture and potential actions that may emerge. Recovery efficiency In general the more oil recovered from a field, the less resource impact per unit of output of production, so maximising recovery has a positive impact on use of resources. This may not always be the case, as volumes of CO2, for example, will tend to increase during the final phase of production, when more energy is needed for extraction. Technology development as well as economics will drive improvements in recovery and we intend to develop an industry-wide metric for tracking recovery factors. Such a metric already exists for some individual installations.