Ministry of the Environment
PO Box 8013 Dep
0030 Oslo

Unofficial translation from Norwegian

Date: 01.12.2005

Our ref.: 2005/409

19^th Licensing Round

The Norwegian Pollution Control Authority's assessment of the blocks being offered

The overall administrative plan for Lofoten-Barents Sea will form the essential basis for the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority (SFT)'s assessment. Those blocks which lie closest to the coast should not be awarded at present, since present day emergency preparedness cannot ensure a sufficient reduction of risk.

In the 19^th Licensing Round of June 2005, 64 blocks in the Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea were offered for tender. This round includes blocks from deep water to coastal areas. A significant number of the blocks lie in, or by drilling and operations can affect, the Lofoten-Barents Sea area, for which an overall administrative plan is now being formulated. This plan is to be presented to the Storting during the spring session 2006. The administrative plan for Lofoten-Barents Sea will establish goals for administration and environmental quality and provide guideline rules for new activity in the area to ensure that vulnerable environmental resources are not damaged by commercial activity.

Below we present a general assessment based on location, following which the blocks are grouped in a table by vulnerability.

Blocks in deep water

Drilling in deep water presents specific problems for potential hazard and accident situations because in certain situations the flow of petroleum may become mixed with water or held in a thermocline in a quite different way than in shallow water. In these blocks, special consideration should be given to the possibility of damage to plankton, fish eggs and larvae in the event of a blowout. There should therefore be a requirement that no drilling (either for exploration or production) in oil bearing strata should be planned during known spawning or hatching periods or when large numbers of seabirds are gathered in the area in question.

Blocks in or near the coastal current

The coastal current flows from the Skagerrak and up along the entire Norwegian coast to the Barents Sea. Its exact width and depth varies during the course of the year and also from year to year. The coastal current is more polluted than water further out in the open ocean and carries with it pollution from the entire Atlantic coast of Europe and from the Baltic. All types of pollutants are involved, including those of oil and radioactive origin. These pollutants are to a significant extent deposited in coastal areas or taken up by organisms. One example of this is technetium from Sellafield which can now be found in seaweed and seabed organisms along the entire coast. Certain areas along the coast are also strongly polluted by local discharges (PAH, heavy metals) and shipping (oil, organotin).

Another aspect of blocks close to shore is that if they are developed, atmospheric emissions could contribute to the acidification of exposed areas. There should therefore be a requirement, in the case of the blocks closest to land, for using a land-based electricity supply or other measures which could remove or reduce the risk of pollution if these blocks are assigned.

In September 2003 the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs set up a working group to look at petroleum activity in coastal areas. Partly because of lack of time, this group never arrived at an agreed acceptable risk level, with appropriate criteria of acceptance. However the group did conclude that the environmental risks associated with activities of the petroleum industry in coastal areas are greater than for activities farther out to sea. A particular risk aspect is that such activities would be carried out in or near the Norwegian coastal current, in which are found vital spawning grounds for several of Norway's most important commercial fish stocks. The coastal current is itself the dominant means of transportation for the products of spawning. Furthermore the distance to environmentally sensitive areas at or near the coastline is small. The potential effects of any discharge would be correspondingly great and the time envelope available for measures to avert them correspondingly limited.

The Directorate for Nature Management, the Fisheries Directorate and SFT recommended in the report of the working group that petroleum activity in the areas nearest the coast should not be permitted. This recommendation was based on the present level of knowledge about vulnerable resources and conflict with the interests of fisheries.

Due to the proximity to environmentally vulnerable areas and resources, blocks close to shore will place particularly great demands on emergency preparedness. An acute oil leakage would require a rapid response and effective emergency measures. The immediate action to prevent large areas of coastline becoming polluted and to reduce the potential harm to vulnerable seabirds would probably be the use of dispersants. However our knowledge of the effects of dispersant-treated oil in coastal waters is limited. There is moreover a lack of practical experience of measures of this type. The emergency measures currently available do not represent a sufficient preventive system for blocks near the coast.

Since the coastal areas are particularly vulnerable to pollution (particularly of seabed organisms), further pollution of the coastal current should be avoided. If any blocks in these areas are to be awarded, stringent requirements should be applied for zero emissions to the sea from drilling and production, as for Lofoten-Barents Sea.

With the petroleum industry commencing activities in areas close to shore, there is a particular need for up to date and detailed knowledge about the natural environment in the affected areas along the coast. This is an essential prerequisite for planning and setting limitations on exploration, operation, emergency preparedness and environmental monitoring.

Blocks in areas with coral reefs

More and more coral reefs are being discovered along the coast. The corals are particularly associated with areas of strong current like Eggakanten and mountain formations in other parts of the sector. From an ecological point of view the coral reefs are very important; the richness of species can be compared with the rain forests. They are vital nursery and feeding grounds for many fish species. The Institute of Marine Research has estimated that more than half of all coral reefs off the coast have been destroyed or appreciably damaged by trawling and anchoring. The petroleum industry could cause damage by anchoring, construction work on the seabed, pipeline laying and sludge dumping. Charting of the seabed should therefore be required before any planning of construction and operation of petroleum industry equipment in areas where there are, or may be, corals; such equipment must then be placed so as not to damage coral reefs either physically or by sludge dumping. This applies particularly to drill sludge, as well as to sand sluicing and rock dumping when laying pipe.

Blocks in the Lofoten-Barents Sea area

The ongoing work of establishing an administrative plan for the area should ensure that vulnerable resources are not damaged and also give guideline rules for commercial activity so as to reduce potential conflict. As part of this process, areas which are particularly vulnerable and areas of conflict between different interests have been identified. This will create a fundamental basis for the administrative plan. Goals for environmental quality and administration will also be established, as well as identifying any significant gaps in knowledge that might affect the ability to assess the consequences of activities in the area. SFT's evaluation of the blocks in this area will therefore be dependent on the ground rules put forward by the administrative plan.

The work which has been done to date in assembling information for the administrative plan has identified the Lofoten-Tromsøflaket area as the most vulnerable, with regard to both natural resources and commercial fish stocks. This area includes, in whole or in part, the petroleum provinces Nordland VI, Nordland VII, Troms II and Troms III. It is also vital to avoid activities which could affect the vulnerable areas from outside, particularly in the event of an acute accident. This would apply particularly to activities in the northern parts of Nordland III and Nordland V. In the report of a working group which assessed co-existence of the fishing and oil industries (Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, July 2003), the Norwegian Fishermen's Association, the Fisheries Directorate and the Institute of Marine Research all concluded that they did not wish the coastal parts of Nordland VI, VII and Troms II to be opened up for the petroleum industry.

SFT's assessments and recommendations appear in the table below.

Yours sincerely

Håvard Holm
Director General SFT

Ingrid Bjotveit
Department of Industry 

Copy to:
Directorate for Nature Management

SFT's assessments and recommendations