What are the best ways to protect marine life during oil production?

Employing a multifaceted approach is essential to safeguard marine life during oil production. This involves conducting thorough environmental assessments beforehand and employing advanced technologies to prevent spills and reduce underwater noise. Protective measures like establishing marine protected areas and employing directional drilling techniques can mitigate habitat disturbance. Effective waste management, continuous monitoring, and compliance with regulations further minimize environmental impact. Through these concerted efforts, oil and gas companies can mitigate their impact on marine ecosystems and promote long-term environmental stewardship.

During my internship at RIL E&P Kakinada, I was fascinated with the subsea architecture and the onshore terminal infrastructure they have. The technology to aid a balance between sustained production and safe practices to safeguard marine lives is required. One thing that comes to my mind is reduce the chance of an oil spill or oil slick while transporting crude oil through floating tankers or an FPSO. This is very crucial and the sophistication required should be understood by the mechanical team or the contractors who are involved in the process of transport. Frequent surveys to find the water quality near the subsea wells and along the pathway of crude transport to process facility is required to understand the requirement of a remedy.

Since it is believed that nearly 70% of well blowouts are associated with human factors, leveraging automated well control systems substantially improves the effectiveness and efficiency of well control operations. The solution enables early detection and reaction to kicks without human intervention, and before they escalate into blowouts presenting huge threats to safety of workers and marine life. Autonomous transition from primary to secondary well control barrier is another feature of such systems which triggers the space-out and shut-in processes to always keep the well under control. In fact, tests have shown that automating in this way results in shut-in at least five times faster than conventional human interface methods.

Following an appropriate assessment of marine life risks, scenarios and available response capabilities, oil companies should develop a wildlife response plan, fully integrated into an oil spill response plan, all aligned with the incident management structure. Such plan must include objectives, strategy, tactical guidance and information needed to fulfill the task successfully. Besides, priorities should be set in relation to other aspects of the response, and resources can be made available as needed and relevant. Finally, the plan's objectives and strategic set-up must reflect governing laws and regulatory requirements for the envisaged response activities and the public perception regarding values represented by marine life.

Comparing the likely outcomes of using different wildlife response techniques through sound judgment is required for impact mitigation assessment. The process starts by compiling and evaluating data regarding identification of pollution resources, and determination of feasible response options, among others. Then, outcomes/impacts for different response options, as well as their effectiveness will be predicted, followed by balancing trade-offs by weighing and comparing the range of benefits and drawbacks associated with each feasible response option. Finally, the best response option(s) is selected to form the mitigation strategy, based on which options or combination of options will minimize the overall impact on marine life.

A wildlife response plan has to bring a wide variety of specific knowledge and information from various stakeholders (including government, academia, and NGOs) together to enable accelerated decision-making and effective response. Prior to formally commence the planning process, stakeholder meetings are normally organized during the risk assessment phase in order to identify and balance various stakeholder interests. In addition, developing and communicating a clear contractor management system guideline which describes the framework of safe and sustainable operations adopted by the company ensures that all the service providers adhere to best practices followed by the company.

The adoption of remote sensing technologies for real-time monitoring of oil production sites has been a critical component in safeguarding marine environments. These technologies enable the early detection of anomalies that could lead to spills or other environmental hazards. In one project, satellite imagery and underwater drones provided invaluable data on ocean currents and potential oil dispersion patterns, allowing for prompt response strategies to protect marine life. Effective management of waste materials generated during oil production is essential to protect marine ecosystems. Techniques such as re-injection of waste into deep geological formations have proven effective in minimising environmental impact.