Discharges to the sea:

Oil and gas platforms generate different waste flows, including coolant and cleaning water as well as produced water brought up from the reservoir in the well-stream.

Rock cuttings drilled out of the wells, drilling fluids and sand from the reservoir represent other sources of waste. The Group's goal is to conduct its business without harming the environment. In the Norwegian continental shelf it aims to eliminate all harmful discharges to the sea by 2005.

Challenges:

The Group applies a range of treatment processes to deal with waste flows, but cannot remove all traces of oil and chemicals from water, sand or drill cuttings. In high concentrations, these residues could be harmful to the marine environment. Produced water presents the biggest challenge on the nation continental shelf. Its volume increases as fields age, and improved recovery – better resource utilization – also boosts water production. At the same time, oil operations on the NCS are moving steadily northwards to important fish breeding and catching grounds.