Onshore Impacts of Offshore Oil PDF
Preview Onshore Impacts of Offshore Oil
ONSHORE IMPACTS OF OFFSHORE OIL Proceedings of the International Conference on Oil and the Environment, Scotland 1980, held in the Pollock Halls, University of Edinburgh, 28 September–1 October. Conference chairmen: Alastair M.Dunnett (Director, Thomson Scottish Petroleum, Edinburgh, UK); Egil Ellingsen (President, Norske Petroleumsforening (Norwegian Petroleum Society), Oslo, Norway). Hon. conference director: William J.Cairns. Hon. conference managers: W.J.Cairns and Associates (Overseas) Ltd, Edinburgh, UK. ONSHORE IMPACTS OF OFFSHORE OIL Edited by WILLIAM J.CAIRNS and PATRICK M.ROGERS W.J.Cairns and Partners, Environmental Consultants 16 Randolph Crescent, Edinburgh EH3 7TT, UK APPLIED SCIENCE PUBLISHERS LTD LONDON and NEW JERSEY APPLIED SCIENCE PUBLISHERS LTD Ripple Road, Barking, Essex, England APPLIED SCIENCE PUBLISHERS, INC. Englewood, New Jersey 07631, USA British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data International Conference on Oil and the Environment (1980: University of Edinburgh) Onshore impacts of offshore oil. 1. Petroleum in submerged lands—Environmental aspects—North Sea—Congresses I. Title II. Cairns, William J. III. Rogers, Patrick M. IV. Series 338.2 HD9560.5 ISBN 0-203-21017-4 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-26806-7 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-85334-974-6 (Print Edition) WITH 18 ILLUSTRATIONS © APPLIED SCIENCE PUBLISHERS LTD 1981 The selection and presentation of material and the opinions expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors concerned. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers, Applied Science Publishers Ltd, Ripple Road, Barking, Essex, England Acknowledgements Advisory Committee A.M.Dunnett, LLD (Chairman) Director, Thomson Scottish Petroleum Limited Professor Sir Kenneth Alexander Chairman, Highlands and Islands Development Board Dr J.Morton Boyd (in his personal capacity) Director Scotland, Nature Conservancy Council W.J.Cairns Senior Partner, W.J.Cairns and Partners J.P.Cameron Assistant General Manager, International Division, Bank of Scotland T.F.Gaskell Executive Secretary Oil Industry International, Exploration and Production Forum Professor P.Johnson-Marshall Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Edinburgh University Professor T.D.Patten Vice Principal, Heriot-Watt University Dr Kjell Stenstadvold Senior Lecturer, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration George Williams, LLD Director General, United Kingdom Offshore Operators Association v vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sponsors Bank of Scotland European Economic Community (Environment Directorate) Institute of Petroleum The Landscape Institute Norwegian Petroleum Society Royal Bank of Scotland Royal Institute of British Architects Royal Town Planning Institute Town and Country Planning Association Special Mention The organisers wish to thank the Scottish Office and the Edinburgh District Council for their kind cooperation. Occidental of Great Britain Inc. and the British National Oil Corporation generously made financial contributions to the conference. This publication is supported by contributions from the British Petroleum Company Limited and from Cluff Oil Limited. Foreword It is an honour to have been invited to write a foreword to the proceedings of this timely conference. During this decade, we will witness the height of man’s exploitation of the earth’s hydrocarbons. As we move into the downward sloping half of the oil production bell curve, even more costly reserves will be wrestled from even more hostile frontiers. The oil industry will, at great expense, overcome tropical swamps, deeper seas, muskeg, icebergs and pack ice. Dwindling supplies and higher prices ensure these high costs will be accompanied by attractive returns. But what about environmental costs? How much pressure can sensitive frontier environments bear without irreversible damage? How much can industry spend to ease these pressures? How can these outlays best be allocated? This conference proves the oil and gas industry ready to respond to these issues, to search for the real and sensible trade-offs between the urgent need for energy and the need to minimise environmental impacts. The oil industry, with its privileged combination of capital, revenue and technology, is in a position to prove that growth and progress in the energy sector can continue without damaging delicate social and natural environments. Indeed, this conference signals an awareness that greater cooperation between disciplines and institutions will be needed to cope with the complex choices facing the industry now and in the future. Energy, environment and economic growth are inextricably linked. At this watershed in man’s industrial history, oil capital provides the path to a clean and secure energy future. If the participants of this conference vii viii FOREWORD recognise this deeper truth—oil, like the environment, is a precious part of man’s heritage upon this planet—the awesome technological challenge of discovery need not be increased by haste, and the bounty of the oil genie need not destroy those who possess the magic lamp. MAURICE F.STRONG Chairman. International Energy Development Corporation, Geneva Preface The depletion of land-based oil reservoirs has led to acceleration in the search for oil in continental shelf structures throughout the world. Discovery of oil and gas in the North Sea led to an exploration and development program of unprecedented intensity, throughout which pressures mounted on the oil industry and environment alike. The organisers of the conference whose preceedings are reported herein shared the view that the lessons learned and experience gained should be internationally reviewed. From this perspective they hoped might emerge new solutions applicable not only to the North Sea and its coastal lands but to other countries facing similar problems. In fact all those who contributed to the conference have helped identify vitally important lessons to be learned from the North Sea experience, which will be ignored at the peril of those undergoing intensive industrial development elsewhere. In the interests of fidelity we have chosen to retain the order of papers as they were presented at the conference; we hope this will not now appear arbitrary to those who were unable to be present. In material from various countries we inevitably encountered differences between American and British spelling. In view of the spirit of reconciliation between conservationists, socio-economists and oil men in which the conference ended we have therefore followed the enlightening ‘blow for liberty from the tyranny of arbitrary custom’ struck by Max Nicholson when he wrote The Environmental Revolution. WILLIAM J.CAIRNS PATRICK M.ROGERS ix
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