Integrating Biodiversity Conservation into Oil and Gas ... - EBI

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BOX 5. THE OIL AND GAS PROJECT LIFECYCLE The oil and gas development project lifecycle can be broken down into five basic phases. Biodiversity considerations apply at all phases of the lifecycle, and the EBI products are designed to address biodiversity concerns and questions at each of these stages. Acquire Concession Prove Commercial Hydrocarbons Start Production End Production Restoration Pre-bid Exploration & Appraisal Development Operations Decommissioning Risk Assessment Studies Seismic & Drilling Drilling & Construction Production, Maintenance & Transportation 1. Pre-bid: As a company prepares to decide whether or not to acquire a concession or other interest in a new area, it typically conducts a series of preliminary high-level identifications and assessments of potential business, environmental and social risks that acquiring the interest may present to future company operations and reputation. These activities are largely desk studies, but do not preclude limited field activities. Consortia of different companies (joint ventures) may be formed to share risks. 2. Exploration and appraisal: Once a company acquires a concession, the next stage is to explore the concession area, to gain an understanding of the subsurface. Seismic surveying and, if justified, exploratory drilling are conducted with the objective of proving or disproving the presence of commercially viable quantities of hydrocarbons. 3. Development: If the exploration and appraisal phase reveals the presence of commercially viable quantities of hydrocarbons, the company may decide to develop the field, an endeavor that may involve investment of hundreds of millions or billions of dollars over 20 to 40 years or more. Development activities include drilling production wells and construction of facilities, such as pipelines and terminals, to process and transport the hydrocarbons. 4. Operations: Once a field is developed, the operations phase begins, encompassing the day-to-day production of oil and/or gas, maintenance of facilities and transportation of the hydrocarbons to market via pipelines and export terminals. 5. Decommissioning: When the commercial life of the field comes to an end, the decommissioning process may involve removal of facilities and the restoration of project sites or other actions appropriate to the site’s next intended use. At the pre-bid stage, a company may choose not to proceed with investment and exit the project lifecycle, because of biodiversity or other concerns. For technical, economic or other reasons, a company may not continue activity after completion of exploration and appraisal. In addition, at any point in the project lifecycle after the pre-bid stage, a company may choose (or be required by the host government) to “exit” a project by divesting and transferring its legal interest to another operator. This possibility may raise a number of issues about the continuity of biodiversity-related philosophy, commitment and practice from one company to another, potentially jeopardizing sustainable biodiversity conservation and a company’s ability to maintain the reputational value of its activities related to biodiversity conservation. i See Integrating Biodiversity into Environmental and Social Assessment Processes and Framework for Integrating Biodiversity into the Site Selection Process for further discussion on this issue. 13 Integrating Biodiversity Conservation into Oil and Gas Development
improve the environmental performance of a project and influence the criteria determining access to hydrocarbon resources. While the products of the EBI are directed primarily at companies, they also have value for conservation organizations and other parties interested in working with – and monitoring – the energy industry, to ensure the effective integration of biodiversity considerations into decision-making and operations throughout the project lifecycle (see Box 5). “The Nature Conservancy believes that any lasting conservation solution must involve all sectors of society. The business sector commands significant resources and has a global reach and impact. Consequently, we believe businesses can and must be important and effective biological diversity conservation partners.” – Steve McCormick, President and CEO 1.4 CHALLENGE AND RESPONSE The Nature Conservancy Responding to these challenges – to society, the energy industry and the conservation community – will require a collaborative effort among companies, conservation organizations, governments (see Box 6), communities and other stakeholders. Only by working in partnership to promote a thorough integration of biodiversity considerations into policies, systems, operations and decision-making frameworks will energy companies, conservation organizations and other stakeholders be able to ensure a balance between meeting future energy needs and protecting vital biodiversity resources. “Although we are a long way from having all the answers about how the diverse needs of people, business and the environment can best be integrated, we are only going to find them by dialogue. Partnerships between industry, communities and civil society are a fundamental part of that process.” – Mark Rose, CEO Fauna & Flora International Recognizing these challenges ahead, the EBI identified six important questions about the future of oil and gas development: 1. What is the business case for integrating biodiversity conservation into oil and gas development? 2. How can companies integrate biodiversity considerations into their systems and operations? 3. What are the potential negative impacts on biodiversity from oil and gas development, and what practices can companies adopt at their operational sites that will mitigate these impacts? 4. How can companies factor biodiversity criteria into decisions about where they will work? 5. How can a company measure a project’s impact on biodiversity and its company-wide performance in relation to biodiversity? 6. How can companies go beyond minimizing impacts and take actions that benefit biodiversity? The following six sections discuss these questions in more detail and reference related EBI products that offer further guidance and resources. 14 The Energy & Biodiversity Initiative
Page 1 and 2: Integrating Biodiversity Conservati
Page 3 and 4: Integrating Biodiversity Conservati
Page 5 and 6: 7. Benefiting Biodiversity Conserva
Page 7 and 8: is considered in conjunction with o
Page 9 and 10: addressing the individual recommend
Page 11 and 12: public interest in the environment
Page 13 and 14: i i can withstand some degree of hu
Page 15 and 16: BOX 4. DEFINING AREAS OF HIGH BIODI
Page 17: Furthermore, multilateral financial
Page 21 and 22: 2. INTEGRATING BIODIVERSITY INTO TH
Page 23 and 24: among the public and positive media
Page 25 and 26: from private financial institutions
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Page 29 and 30: contingency measures for any signif
Page 31 and 32: instead recommending that companies
Page 33 and 34: BOX 10. POTENTIAL BIODIVERSITY ISSU
Page 35 and 36: i commitment of an energy company t
Page 37 and 38: equires a set of reference conditio
Page 39 and 40: 4. MITIGATING IMPACTS What are the
Page 41 and 42: on natural resources such as timber
Page 43 and 44: 5. DECIDING WHERE TO WORK How can c
Page 45 and 46: ”Our activities do sometimes touc
Page 47 and 48: projects, regardless of whether or
Page 49 and 50: deriving site-level and company-lev
Page 51 and 52: questions, audiences and informatio
Page 53 and 54: TABLE 4. OPTIONS FOR BENEFITING BIO
Page 55 and 56: education can increase the ability
Page 57 and 58: 7. Energy companies integrate biodi
Page 59 and 60: JOINT VENTURE: A group of companies
Page 61 and 62: APPENDIX A. PARTICIPATING COMPANIES
Page 63 and 64: APPENDIX B. THE STORY OF THE EBI Th
Page 65: The Energy & Biodiversity Initiativ

Integrating Biodiversity Conservation into Oil and Gas ... - EBI

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