THE ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITIES’ HANDLING OF THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY'S OIL POLLUTION PREPAREDNESS IN NORWAY

Abstract

ABSTRACT The first oil field off the coast of Norway initiated production in the early 1970s. Today 33 oil fields are being exploited by the petroleum industry. A further 8 sites are under development, and promising exploration activity is taking place in new areas. Some of these areas are particularly sensitive from an environmental point of view. Since the Bravo blowout in 1977 there has been no major accident involving an oil spill. Overall experience from supervision indicates that petroleum activities are carried out within adequate safety limits. According to the legislative framework for supervision of oil pollution in the petroleum activity, conditions are to be specified by the authorities prior to every exploration and production activity. The design of the recovery system is to be specified by the operator, based on the dimensions of the oil spill. The stipulation is that all production installations can be reached within given response periods, depending on the location of the installation in relation to environmentally sensitive resources. The Norwegian Pollution Control Authority (SFT) is responsible for the national oil spill contingency plan. The petroleum industry shall ensure that its contingency plans are tailored to the actual environmental risk. The environmental authorities have been working on the development of a model to define which regions are to be classified as particularly sensitive. This has led to the implementation of legislation that is of interest to both the industry and the authorities.