This document is intended to provide an introduction for non-specialists to the key activities and potential sources of environmental effects associated with oil and gas exploration and production. It forms part of the information base for the Department of Trade and Industry's (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA2) process in the North Sea.

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA2) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). SEA2 focuses on the mature areas of the North Sea UK continental shelf which is divided into 3 areas - Northern, Central and Southern North Sea. The socio-economic effects of licensing the SEA2 area are discussed. The scope of the study includes estimates of the reserves which might be discovered and developed, and the related exploration, appraisal, development and decommissioning costs. The possible phasing of these activities through time is also examined. The effects of the development of new fields in extending the lives of existing ones and the implications for the provision of necessary infrastructure onshore are also examined. The employment generated directly and indirectly in the 3 sub-areas is estimated. The distinction is made between employment at the various stages in the exploration, development and production activities. The significance of the employment opportunities provided for the long-term maintenance of a skilled workforce is also considered.

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA6) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). The study area dealt with in this report includes all of the Irish Sea that falls within Irish Jurisdiction. The report is intended to complement a similar study of UK waters in the Irish Sea undertaken as part of the UK Government's Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA6). The aim of this report is to present an up-to-date overview of all relevant data concerning methane-derived authigenic carbonate and features associated with shallow gas and seabed fluid flow in the Irish sector of the western Irish Sea. It presents a detailed assessment of potential gas sources and migration pathways, shallow gas, gas-related seabed structures and evidence of present day gas seepage in the study area.

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA7) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). This report assesses the socio-economic implications of further oil and gas licensing the SEA7 area. The Department of Trade and Industry provided scenarios of possible exploration and development activity in the area and these scenarios were converted into optimistic and pessimistic scenarios. They were then used to produce forecasts of: oil and gas production; oil and gas reserves; expenditure; employment; and tax revenues. The implications for existing facilities in the area are discussed and the potential social impacts. An underpinning report, Economic and Social Baseline Study, is also available.

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA6) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). The SEA 6 area supports different users and activities, many of which are focussed in particular coastal and marine areas. It is a mixture of sparsely populated rural areas and highly developed centres of population. The primary contributors to the national and regional economies are tourism and leisure, oil and gas, ports and shipping and locally naval defence. The renewable energy sector is growing and may provide significant local opportunities for the port and local construction industries in the future. The report presents an overview of the coastal population of the SEA 6 area and the industries and activities using the SEA 6 area including: Oil and gas activity; Ports and shipping; Mariculture; Military activity; Telecommunication cables; Renewable energy; Aggregate extraction; Marine disposal; Tourism and leisure; Locally important activities; Coastal and marine archaeology; Coastal and marine management initiatives

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA6) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). The report assesses the socio-economic implications of further oil and gas licensing the SEA 6 area. The Department of Trade and Industry provided scenarios of possible exploration and development activity in the area and these scenarios were converted into optimistic and pessimistic scenarios. They were then used to produce forecasts of: oil and gas production; oil and gas reserves; expenditure; employment; and tax revenues. The implications for existing facilities in the area are discussed and the potential social impacts. An underpinning report, Economic and Social Baseline Study, is also available.

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA3) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). The report is a synthesis of information on human activities which might have an impact on, or themselves be affected by, further oil and gas developments in the SEA3 area of the North Sea. The activities include shipping, energy (both existing oil and gas developments and renewable energy), telecommunications, military activities, waste disposal, dredging and aggregate extraction, marine archaeological sites and wrecks. The SEA3 area hosts a wide variety of different users. Some have been there for centuries, others are more recent arrivals. Among the older industries and activities are fisheries, ports and shipping, military activities and sea bathing. The offshore oil and gas industry has developed into a major player in the North Sea since the late 1960s, with considerable infrastructure of pipelines and coastal gas terminals in the SEA3 area. The number of submarine telecommunication cables across the North Sea has grown enormously in the past ten years, with the advent of the fibre optic cable and the growth of the Internet and e-commerce. The next twenty years may see considerable development of offshore wind farms in the SEA3 area.

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA7) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). This "Economic and Social Baseline Study" provides baseline information on the key economic activities in the SEA7 area, namely: offshore oil and gas; ports, ferries and shipping services; fishing; aquaculture tourism; other marine-related activities. A separate report (SEA7 Socio-economics) by the same authors assesses the socio-economic implications of further oil and gas licensing in the SEA7 area.

This report is a contribution to Strategic Environmental Assessment SEA2 conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) and it considers human activities in the North Sea which might have an impact on, or themselves be affected by, further oil and gas developments in the SEA2 areas. The SEA2 areas cover the Northern North Sea (NNS), the Central North Sea (CNS) and the Southern North Sea (SNS). The activities include shipping, energy (both existing oil and gas developments and renewable energy), telecommunications, military activities, waste disposal, dredging and aggregate extraction, marine archaeological sites and wrecks. Commercial fishing is the subject of a separate report.

This report is a contribution to the Department of Trade and Industry's (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) Strategic Environmental Assessment SEA2, which covers the mature oil and gas fields of the Southern, Central and Northern North Sea. The report reviews the impact of human activity on fish and fisheries in the North Sea and is relevant to both SEA 2 and SEA 3 areas. The North Sea is one of the world's most important fishing grounds. In the central and northern parts there is a mixed demersal fishery that targets cod, haddock and whiting; plaice and sole are trawled in the southern and southeastern North Sea; there are extensive pelagic fisheries for herring and mackerel; crustaceans fisheries for Norway lobster, crab and scallop; and industrial fisheries for sandeel and Norway pout. Commercial fishing itself has the highest impact on fish populations. The various impacts of the offshore oil and gas industry (e.g. seismic surveys, drilling discharges, produced water discharges) are classified as intermediate in scale. The biology of the commercially important fish and shellfish that occur in the offshore waters of the North Sea is discussed. Numerous maps, showing the location of spawning activity and the location of fishing effort, are included.