Offshore Norge – Climate and Environmental Report 2024

Seabird populations in Norway have shown declining trends over many years, with 34 out of 54 species listed on the Norwegian red list, and 24 of these are considered threatened. Norwegian seabird populations account for as much as 20–25 percent of all seabirds nesting in Europe, and Norway therefore has a significant national and international management responsibility.

SEAPOP (derived from the English term for seabird populations) was initiated in 2005 and is a comprehensive and long-term monitoring and mapping program for Norwegian seabirds. The program provides and maintains fundamental knowledge about seabirds that contributes to better management of these marine environments.

SEAPOP’s work is organized and carried out by personnel from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) and the Norwegian Polar Institute (NP). The program has so far been funded by the sector agencies, the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment (KLD), the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (OED), and Offshore Norge.

SEAPOP conducts detailed mapping of the distribution of breeding, resting, and wintering seabirds along the entire Norwegian coastline and in Svalbard, and a number of key locations have been established for monitoring.

SEATRACK is a project under SEAPOP that was initiated in 2014. The purpose of the project is to increase knowledge about the distribution of seabirds in the Northeast Atlantic outside the breeding season. Many species migrate far during the winter season and utilize large areas for foraging.

In the project, nest loggers or GPS devices are attached to the birds when they are in their breeding colony during the summer. When they return to the breeding colony in the following year, the loggers are collected, and the data is analysed. The project is a large collaborative effort involving several countries.

The project is currently in its third phase. The two previous phases were funded by participating research institutions, the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment, the Norwegian Coastal Administration, and the industry (Offshore Norge and 6-8 operators). In phase 3, offshore wind operators are also contributing with industry funding, with a total of 17 industry partners (including Offshore Norge).

The results from the programs are actively used in the industry's work with, for example, impact assessments and environmental risk analyses.

In 2023, Offshore Norge, along with Equinor, also contributed funds to build a kittiwake hotel in Røst, as well as follow-up research on the effects of such a measure. Kittiwakes nest on rooftops in Røst, and necessary maintenance required relocating the nests to a new location. The "hotel" is built to better monitor the kittiwakes, which could contribute to increased knowledge about whether such measures can have positive effects.

Risk assessments are an important part of the operators’ safety work, helping to identify which activities, times of the year, and environmental elements contribute to the highest risk for an exploration well or a producing field. The results provide a basis for assessing the most effective measures to prevent potential consequences. These can include both preventive measures that prevent acute discharges and consequence-reducing measures such as oil spill preparedness.

ERA Acute is the recommended method for environmental risk assessments for NCS activities. It can also be used internationally, handling various levels of detail depending on the data available. The analyses are built up step by step, and guidelines for best practices have been developed to ensure that the analyses use the best available input data and are performed in a comparable manner.

Specific software has been developed for ERA Acute, and this is managed on behalf of the operators by Offshore Norge.

Continuous improvements are underway on both the model and the data platform, and include the following initiatives:

• Annual quality assurance of the models and tools used in the industry's environmental risk analyses and preparedness needs for acute pollution. This work is carried out by key executing institutions and also includes updates of meteorological and oceanographic tide data. In 2023, the work also included verification of the calculations conducted for the coastal zone, which are foundational for both environmental risk assessments and preparedness planning in the coastal and shoreline areas. The results of this work will be incorporated into the next version of the oil drift model, available in Q1 2024.
• ERA Acute Marginal Ice Zone Project/dynamic data
  This project is funded by the Research Council of Norway. It was launched in 2018 and concluded in 2023. The project consisted of two parts: facilitating the use of high-resolution data for selected valued ecosystem components (VEC) in ERA Acute analyses and developing a methodology to calculate environmental risk in a simplified manner for the ice zone (Marginal Ice Edge Zone) as an independent VEC habitat of ecological significance. The industry partners in the project include Equinor, Lundin (now Aker BP), OMW, Wintershall Dea, and Offshore Norge.
• Development project for seabirds
  The objective of this project is to improve the assessment of the consequences of acute oil pollution on declining seabird species and populations. The work is conducted in dialogue with NINA.
• Improved toxicity curves for early life stages of fish resources and datasets on spawning areas are being developed.

The project includes the revision of loss calculations for eggs and larvae using new knowledge about sensitive species and methods, as well as discussion and revision of the classification of spawning stocks. The project is conducted in dialogue with the Institute of Marine Research.

The zero emissions work on the shelf is based on a risk-based approach, known as RBA – Risk Based Approach from OSPAR. Risk assessments are used to implement measures where they are most environmentally effective while also providing a reasonable balance between cost and benefit. The zero emissions work has resulted in a significant reduction of oil and chemicals released into the sea. The volumes of oil discharged into the sea have decreased through reinjection on many fields, and substantial investments have been made in treating water before discharge. For chemicals, the most environmentally hazardous added chemicals have been reduced by over 99 percent, a result achieved even before 2010. Nevertheless, operators continue to work on assessing and phasing out hazardous chemicals. Discharges of chemicals in the red and black categories typically account for less than 1 percent of total emissions.

The potential environmental risk associated with the discharge of produced water is assessed for each field through analyses and model calculations, expressed as the Environmental Impact Factor (EIF). Oil in produced water constitutes a very small part of the overall risk associated with the discharge, while added chemicals can contribute more significantly. The EIF factor is linked to a specific discharge, and its purpose is to evaluate which components in produced water contribute to the risk, thereby providing a basis for the substitution of chemicals containing these components. Certain added chemicals and natural components from the bedrock that are released with produced water have the potential to cause harmful effects on aquatic organisms. This is supported by research and the EIF calculations. Primarily, this applies to concentrations near the discharge sources, which vary from one hundred meters to one thousand meters away. Added chemicals that contribute to environmental risk are subject to regular assessments and substitution. Offshore Norge's guideline 084 for modelling and calculating the EIF was updated and published in the autumn of 2022. Results from the water column monitoring on the shelf in 2021 indicate that no significant acute biological effects from discharges can be detected beyond the immediate area. Additionally, research and modelling of produced water discharges have so far found no significant effects. Research continued in 2022. Significant investments in treatment technology and injection have been made to reduce oil discharges from produced water. Most fields have discharges well below the discharge requirement of 30 mg/l, while a few fields, for various reasons, experience challenges with the stable operation of injection facilities and treatment processes, resulting in slightly higher levels, especially during the integration of new well streams. IOGP published a guideline for RBA in the autumn of 2020. This guideline describes the approach to RBA and recommends how to implement its principles, with results determining whether the risk is acceptable or if further measures should be taken. The NEA tasked the expert group with providing an overview of whether higher environmental risks or effects from produced water discharges are expected in the Barents Sea and Arctic compared to the continental shelf elsewhere in the Norwegian Sea and the North Sea. The expert group concluded in late 2019 that, based on the data gathered, there is no reason to believe that organisms and ecosystems in the Barents Sea are significantly more sensitive to chemical pollution and ecotoxicological effects than elsewhere on the shelf. This aligns with findings from the PROOFNY project under the Marine and Coastal Program from 2005 to 2015 and in environmental monitoring.

Sand eels or herring are considered a key species in the North Sea ecosystem. There is a need for further knowledge about sand eels to improve the assessment of environmental risks associated with various types of discharges. KnowSandeel is a collaboration between the petroleum industry and the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research, aimed at enhancing knowledge related to the vulnerability of sand eels to human activities. The project was completed in 2023, and robust methods have been established to produce eggs and sand eel larvae from wild-caught spawning-ready sand eels. This has enabled the mapping and documentation of egg and larval development in sand eels, allowing for the examination of vulnerability to oil exposure at different life stages. Additionally, it is possible to study the natural behaviour of sand eel larvae and how sensitive that behaviour is to environmental changes. In KnowSandeel 1.0, sand eel eggs were exposed to oil, and despite oil droplets adhering to the sticky surface of the eggs, the natural larval development was less affected by this than in other fish species. The petroleum industry and the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research have continued their efforts to enhance knowledge about sand eels in KnowSandeel 2.0. The main goal is to integrate knowledge about the vulnerability of sand eel larvae to oil exposure and the dynamics of sand eel larvae, for implementation in risk assessment models such as Symbioses. This will provide more precise data about where and when particular caution should be exercised regarding activities in sand eel areas.

Methane is the main component of natural gas and is a potent greenhouse gas. Methane has a lifespan of about 12 years in the atmosphere, making it a so-called short-lived climate driver. In a 20-year perspective, the climate effect of methane is approximately 80 times greater than that of CO₂. The petroleum industry places significant emphasis on minimizing emissions of natural gas—both for safety reasons and due to the climate impact of methane emissions into the atmosphere.

To detect methane emissions from the production and transportation of oil and gas, a variety of technical solutions and instruments are available. On behalf of Offshore Norge, Carbon Limits has prepared the report “Overview of methane detection and quantification technologies for offshore applications.” The report shows that satellites are best suited for detecting large emission sources over land. To detect and quantify emissions from individual sources, handheld instruments must be used that can be brought right up to the source. There are limited technical solutions available for detecting and quantifying methane leaks underwater. Carbon Limits has conducted the study "Overview of subsea methane emissions detection and quantification technologies" on behalf of Offshore Norge to shed light on this.

Methane emissions on the Norwegian shelf totalled 11,579 tonnes in 2023. This corresponds to an emission intensity of 0.02%. This is very low compared to oil and gas production in other countries. This is clearly illustrated in the IEA's overview.