Environmental Statement - Maersk Oil

SCOPE
iv
Balloch Field Development Environmental Statement
Non‐Technical Summary
This ES sets out to assess the environmental implications of any emissions, planned and unplanned
discharges and noise resulting from the Balloch development on potential environmental and socio‐
economic receptors.
The Balloch development consists of the following phases:
The drilling of one appraisal well;
Side tracking of the appraisal well to provide the first production well;
Drilling of up to two additional production wells on success of the initial production well;
Installation of production and gas lift pipelines and umbilicals (~80 m) and cooling spools
to connect the wells to the existing Donan DC2 manifold;
Production of the Balloch fluids.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND MITIGATION
Maersk Oil is committed to conducting activities in compliance with all legislation and operates an
ISO14001 certified Environmental Management System (EMS) as part of a wider Business
Management System. Maersk Oil’s commitments to ensuring protection of the environment are set
out in the HSSE policy, a copy of which is provided in Appendix C. The EMS covers all aspects of
Maersk Oil’s activities including exploration, drilling and production activities and will be applied to
the proposed development. The activities associated with the proposed development are not
anticipated to have a significant impact on the environment. However, a number of mitigation
measures will be adhered to in order to minimise any impact.
DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT
An option selection process was carried out to determine the preferred development concept. The
chosen option was a short subsea tieback from the existing Donan DC2 manifold, consisting of up to
three production wells tied back to the GPIII FPSO.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIO‐ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS
Prior to undertaking the EIA, an environmental and socio‐economic baseline was compiled. A brief
summary is presented here. The Balloch developmental area has comparable flora and fauna to that
found over wide areas of the CNS. The site and pipeline route surveys undertaken within the
development area identified no environmentally sensitive habitats protected under Annex I of the EC
Habitats Directive.
There is evidence of Norway pout and Nephrops spawning within the development area, while sprat
and whiting have spawning grounds nearby. Juvenile Norway pout, Nephrops, and blue whiting use
the area as a nursery ground, while juvenile haddock and sprat are found at relatively close distances
(15 ‐ 40 km) from the development area.
The overall seabird vulnerability to surface pollution is moderate and monthly vulnerability is highest
during November. During the proposed drilling period the Offshore Vulnerability Index (OVI) ranges
from low to very high.
The main cetacean species present in the area include white‐sided dolphin, white‐beaked dolphin,
minke whale and harbour porpoise. Of the main cetaceans regularly sighted, the harbour porpoise is
the only one protected under Annex II of the Habitats Directive.
The Balloch field development is within an area of relatively low fishing effort, representing
approximately 1 % of the total UK fishing effort over recent years. The area is predominately targeted
for demersal and shellfish species. Similar to effort, landings within the area are relatively low
compared with other areas of the UK, representing less than 1 % of live catches over recent years.