ESIA - More than a Tick in the Box?

Abstract

Abstract Integrated environmental and social assessment is increasingly becoming part of national regulatory approval processes, to estimate and manage the impacts of oilfield developments upon the natural and human environment. Even at pre-project stages, the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) can form part of the company decision-making for country entry. Effective integration of the ESIA process and findings into the engineering design process can deliver benefits in impact mitigation and environmental management across all stages of the development. The ESIA should not therefore be viewed simply as a regulatory "tick-in-the-box". The international community is demanding increasingly rigorous environmental and social assessments of planned developments by international operators and reputation can be strongly influenced by the consistency and quality of the assessment process and the extent to which ESIA commitments are delivered. It is recognised by the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (OGP) that sharing of experience through "lessons-learned" would provide a means to achieve consistency in delivery of high quality environmental and social impact management. The OGP ESIA in Projects Taskforce has been formed to develop industry guidance, which will be applicable to development projects in any geographical area. This will facilitate the attainment of a consistently high standard by all operators, to align themselves with international expectations. The aim is both to add technical value and to facilitate interactions with stakeholders and third parties. Given the diversity of project specifics, company internal processes, local environmental sensitivities etc., the approach must offer a high degree of flexibility in its application. "Building-blocks" based on agreed "good practice" to be assembled as appropriate, are viewed to offer greater potential than a more rigid process. In addition to direct application to oil and gas developments, extrapolation to downstream projects is possible.