The Experiences from Developing and Using a Tailor Made Software Module for Environmental Reporting for a Major Decommissioning Project

Abstract

Abstract TOTAL E&P NORGE (TOTAL) has decommissioned many different types of installations in the North Sea, from sub sea installations and smaller jacket installations to the major Frigg field comprising six platforms with an estimated amount of 92000 metric tonnes of material to be removed. Experience from the first projects revealed a need to develop a fit for purpose reporting system tailormade for decommissioning projects. The system should particularly enable tracking of material from offshore site to the final destinations for the dismantled and segregated waste fractions. An agreement was made with the environmental competence and software provider Emisoft, providing the environmental accounting system presently in use, in order to define the needs and to develop a suitable reporting module for decommissioning projects. The paper describes the organisation of the decommissioning module, how the material flow is monitored including related energy consumption, emissions and discharges. Application of this module for the Frigg decommissioning project enabled continuous monitoring of e.g. objectives established for reuse and recycling for different waste fractions as well as for the entire project itself was monitored continuously throughout the entire Frigg decommissioning project. Equally important was the recording of high quality data for energy consumption and related emissions for the different phases of the project as well as removal method applied for the various types of installations removed. These data were used to develop Generic Key Performance Indicators on energy consumption and related air emissions for material removed versus removal method and type of installation. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) prepared for the Frigg decommissioning project showed that such data was not available. The decommissioning module developed proved to be an efficient management tool providing the project with continuous and transparent monitoring of the material flow and related energy consumption and emissions being important also for ensuring legal compliance especially for management of hazardous waste and follow up on recycling objectives. It has now been selected for other major decommissioning projects.