Regional Environmental Impact Assessments – A Tool for Improvements and Increased Efficiency in the EIA-Work. Recent experiences from the Norwegian Offshore Activity

Abstract

Abstract The Norwegian EIA-system for the petroleum offshore industry has recently been revised based on criticism from several authorities. A revision of the Petroleum Act has made a more flexible system and introduced impact assessments on the regional level based on the existing, planned and expected activity within the region. The main objectives for the revised system are to improve the EIA-work and to make it more efficient. The paper describes the general EIA-system in Norway for offshore projects and gives an overview of the revised EIA-system which is based on Regional Impact Assessments (REIA) and the Field-specific Environmental Impact Assessments (FEIA). The basic principles in the system and the typical content of a REIA and a FEIA are described. The Norwegian shelf is divided into 3 main REIA-regions; the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea. The current REIA-status in these regions are briefly described. The REIA of the North Sea is recently approved by the authorities and sets a standard for the future REIA-work. The structure and content of this REIA is described more detailed. Further, some of the methods for impact prediction based on the cumulative effect approach are described and the main conclusions in the North Sea REIA are highlighted. The preliminary experiences with the revised EIA-system regarding the expected improvements and increased efficiency in the EIA-work are finally described. The experiences so far show that it undoubtedly has lead to substansial improvements and indicates that the objective of increased efficiency and overall cost saving in the EIA-work probably will be met.