Protection of the marine environment from offshore oil and gas activities

Abstract

Global energy consumption has doubled since the early 1970s. According to the International Energy Agency, this is likely to increase by 2035 by more than one-third, due to world population growth and development in the major emerging economies of China and India. As a consequence, the oceans are attracting growing attention as a resource reservoir. One-third of the oil and one-quarter of the natural gas consumed in the world today come from underwater areas and oil and gas exploration and exploitation are moving further and deeper offshore. A number of companies are already pursuing exploration projects in remote areas, such as the Arctic. Examples include Shell's operations in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas; Cairn Energy's operations in offshore Greenland; Rosneft/ExxonMobil's operations in the Kara Sea; and Rosneft/ENI operations in the Russian Barents Sea. Meanwhile, the latest world record offshore drilling depth was established in January 2013 off the coast of India at a depth of 3165 metres. 5 Worldwide, there are around 900 large-scale oil and gas platforms.6 The most important current offshore production regions include the North Sea, the Persian Gulf, Western and Central Africa, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean, the Caspian Sea and Southeast Asia.