Environmental responsibility

All oil-related operations impact the environment and entail environmental risk. PA Resources strives to minimize the environmental impact of Group operations and has an accident and incident rate goal of zero. Naturally the Group as a minimum complies with the environmental legislation and regulations applicable in each country in which it operates.

Environmental activities in 2011

  • PA Resources in Tunisia is working for an environmental certification of operations in accordance with ISO 14001.
  • PA Resources UK has an environmental management system which is certified in accordance with the ISO 14001:2004 standard. In 2011, the system was also certified to the international standard for office health and safety, ISO 18001.
  • The system for measurement and monitoring of environmental performance has been developed further in 2011.
    For environmental key ratios »
  • Plotting of environmental risks prior to drillings has been completed in Denmark and Tunisia. Environmental plans were produced and measures taken with the aim of minimising the environmental risks and impact of each project.
 Area   Description of environmental
impact		 Prioritised measures

Atmospheric
emissions		 Atmospheric emissions primarily comprise of carbon dioxide emissions through the combustion of gas at our production facilities and fuel for transportation. To continue to monitor and measure our emissions, which will enable us to set goals for reducing the flaring of natural gas and decreasing our emissions of carbon dioxide.

Emissions to
land and water		 Unintentional discharges of oil and chemicals cause injuries to animals and people as well as pollute oceans, land and groundwater. To work proactively to minimize the risk of accidental emissions, for example through risk assessments, careful planning, improving technology and working
methods, education and training as well as monitoring. Minimizing the usage of chemicals is a priority.

Produced water A mixture of oil, gas and water is pumped up from a production well. The water is separated from the mixture but may contain traces of hydrocarbons and chemicals.
To purify the produced water to approved levels before its release into the sea or re-injection into reservoirs.

Waste The operations utilise natural resources and other material that generate waste such as oil containing mud, drilling mud, chemical residues, construction waste and household waste. To minimise the amount of waste through recycling and reuse. Fragments of stone that have broken loose from the bedrock can be separated from the thick drilling mud and released, if assessed as being sufficiently clean.

Energy
consumption		 The energy consumption of business activities, primarily of fossil fuels, contributes to increased carbon dioxide emissions and climate change. To increase the efficiency of production facilities thus lowering energy consumption, which contributes to lowering costs and reduced carbon dioxide emissions.

Disturbance of wildlife Acoustic signals utilised in seismic surveys can temporarily disturb wildlife. On production fields, the noise from drilling rigs, vessels and other machines can disturb wildlife, which can affect their migration routes. To utilise various methods to minimise disturbance. Seismic surveys in sensitive areas have observers onboard to check that no marine animals are in the vicinity when the survey commences. Soft starts are utilised which entails gradually raising the noise levels.