Environmental and Planning Law

The exploration for and the production of oil and gas both on and offshore can cause environmental damage. Such activity produces solid wastes, aqueous discharges and atmospheric emissions. Solid waste discharges comprise primarily drill cuttings, drilling muds and scrap materials. Aqueous discharges include produced water, oil spills, cooling water, sewage, deck drainage, workover fluids, desalination wastes, dewatering and flaring drop-out. Atmospheric emissions arise from flaring, cold vents, oil loading, turbine exhausts, fugitive emissions and halo carbons. In addition to these emissions during the “active” phase of oil extraction, the whole question of what to do with redundant structures is one that has been causing environmental concern.