Life Cycle Data for Norwegian Oil & Gas

The production of oil and gas involves a number of activities for which the environment consequences so far have not been thoroughly studied. How, for instance, do we establish the environmental implications from offshore exploration drilling? How important, environmentally speaking, is the demand for construction materials in platforms and other production facilities? How much fuel is consumed by oil tankers, supply vessels and helicopters in the offshore petroleum industry? These and many other questions are addressed in this volume. The studied issues are the resource requirements, wastes generation, emissions and discharges associated with Norwegian crude oil and natural gas for the reference year 1991. The methodologies used in the process of collecting information are based on a life cycle concept. In doing so, enormous amounts of data have been generated. The life cycle concept involves a scope that covers the construction, operation and demobilization of all exploration, production, transportation and support facilities. Explanations of scope and methodologies accompany the data. Results on a number of summary scenarios are presented in tables and illustrations, followed by comments on the results. A general introduction to the offshore oil and gas industry is also included, intended for readers who are not familiar with this subject.