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2001 Strategic Environmental Assessment SEA2 Technical report - Contaminant status of the North Sea

This report is a contribution to the Department of Trade and Industry's (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) Strategic Environment Assessment SEA2 for the North Sea. It draws on a wide range of data sources to provide an overview of the chemicals used in the offshore oil and gas industry, of the chemicals already in the environment and of those released into the environment from other sources. Considering the whole sea area, it should be noted that the water samples with the highest levels of chemical contamination are found at inshore estuary and coastal sites subject to high industrial usage. Approximately 2,000 chemical products are used by the offshore oil and gas industry. In 1999 some 180,000 tonnes of chemicals were discharged into the UK sector of the North Sea. Produced water is now the main source of contaminants, having overtaken drill cuttings since oil-based muds were replaced by less harmful alternatives. 24,286 tonnes of chemicals were reported as discharged to the UKCS in produced water in 1999. As oilfields mature, the amount of produced water increases. The range of chemicals used by the offshore oil and gas industry, the means of regulating them and of monitoring their use, are discussed. Evidence of biological effects caused by the release of contaminants into the sea is reviewed.

Simple

Date (Publication)
2001-08-01
Identifier
British Geological Survey / BGS_SEA_19
Custodian
  British Geological Survey (BGS) - Paul Henni
Murchison House, West Mains Road , Edinburgh , EH9 3LA , UK
+44 (0)131 667 1000
Originator
  Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC)
Admiralty Way , London , SW1A 2HD , UK
+44 0300 060 4000
+44 (0) 1823 284077
Maintenance and update frequency
notPlanned Not planned
Name
Documents
Keywords
  • NDGO0001
SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary
  • Concentration of carbohydrates, phenols, alkanols (alcohols), ethers, aldehydes and ketones in sediment
  • Concentration of other organic contaminants in biota
  • Concentration of other organic contaminants in sediment samples
  • Concentration of polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) in biota
  • Concentration of polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) in sediment samples
  • Concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in biota
  • Concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediment samples
  • Industrial activity
  • Industrial discharges
  • Metal concentrations in biota
  • Inorganic chemical composition of sediment or rocks
GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0
  • Energy resources
  • Production and industrial facilities
SeaVoX Vertical Co-ordinate Coverages
  • crust
  • sediment
Use limitation
The SEAs data were produced as part of the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change's Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment programme; Crown Copyright, all rights reserved. The DECC SEA must be acknowledged in any maps or publications that make use of the data. All the data files are freely available to the public. The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) data portal provides free access to available data and reports which have been produced through the SEA process. The site is run and managed by BGS on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). Many files can be downloaded directly from this website. Those that are too large to download can be ordered via the website for postal delivery from BGS. BGS (NERC) has been contracted by DECC to publish SEA datasets on its behalf. All intellectual property rights (including , without limitation, copyrights, database rights and all other rights which subsist or may at any time in the future subsist in the Dataset(s)) in the Dataset(s) ('Intellectual Property Rights') are owned by DECC (formerly the Department of Trade and Industry, and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform). BGS has been authorised by DECC to use SEA datasets for all purposes but on a 'not-for-profit basis'. BGS has been authorised by DECC to pass on SEA datasets to third parties so that they can use them for all purposes but on a 'not-for-profit' basis.
Access constraints
intellectualPropertyRights Intellectual property rights
Distance
5  http://standards.iso.org/ittf/PubliclyAvailableStandards/ISO_19139_Schemas/resources/uom/gmxUom.xml#m
Metadata language
EnglishEnglish
Topic category
  • Biota
  • Environment
  • Geoscientific information
  • Oceans
  • Utilities communication
Date (Revision)
2006-01-01
Unique resource identifier
North Sea
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Begin date
2001-01-01
End date
2001-01-01
Supplemental Information
http://www.offshore-sea.org.uk/site/index.php
Reference system identifier
OGP / urn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::4326
Distribution format
OnLine resource
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) data portal

The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) data portal provides free access to available data and reports which have been produced through the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change SEA process. The site is run and managed by BGS on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). Many files can be downloaded directly from this website. Those that are too large to download can be ordered via the website for postal delivery from BGS.

Hierarchy level
dataset Dataset
Statement
This report was compiled by CEFAS in consultation with Fisheries Research Services, Marine Laboratory Aberdeen using various sources as part of the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change's Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment programme. Data, such as those collated to support evaluations of the quality status of the North Sea (1987, 1990, 1993, 2000) and the UK NMMP reports are presented in a variety of publications, including CEFAS Aquatic Environmental Monitoring Reports (AEMRs) and reports from UKOOA (United Kingdom Offshore Operators Association). Of particular relevance was a study commissioned by UKOOA, which transferred historical environmental survey data around oil and gas platforms from paper reports into a database, enabling a comprehensive analysis to be undertaken. Information from a draft of this report has been included where relevant. In addition, literature searches were undertaken so as to identify other studies on the sources and effects of contamination relevant to the oil and gas activities in the North Sea.
File identifier
aba64100-c109-4de3-e044-0003ba6f30bd XML
Metadata language
EnglishEnglish
Hierarchy level
dataset Dataset
Date stamp
2011-08-30
Metadata standard name
MEDIN Discovery Metadata Standard
Metadata standard version
Version 2.3.5
Point of contact
  British Geological Survey (BGS) - Mary Mowat
+44 (0)131 667 1000
+44 (0)131 668 4140
 
 

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