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Strategic Environmental Assessment Area North and West of Orkney and Shetland

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Strategic Environmental Assessment Area North and West of Orkney and Shetland Report to the Department of Trade and Industry Strategic Environmental Assessment Area North and West of Orkney and Shetland Consultation Document September 2003 4th Strategic Environmental Assessment – Area North & West of Orkney & Shetland This page is intentionally blank 4th Strategic Environmental Assessment – Area North & West of Orkney & Shetland CONTENTS Non-Technical Summary 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Regulatory context to SEA 1 1.3 History of the DTI SEA process 2 1.4 Licensing context 3 1.5 Scope and purpose of the SEA 3 1.6 Organisation of the consultation document 4 1.7 Supporting studies and documents 5 2 STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PROCESS 2.1 Introduction 7 2.2 Overview of the SEA process 7 2.3 Scoping the SEA 9 2.4 Assessment workshop 10 2.5 Stakeholder dialogue meeting 10 2.6 Studies and surveys 11 2.7 Further consultation process 13 3 REGULATORY CONTEXT 3.1 SEA Directive 15 3.2 Licensing 16 3.3 Control of operations 17 4 ACTIVITIES 4.1 Introduction 25 4.2 Alternatives 25 4.3 Stages of activity 30 5 PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL ENVIRONMENT 5.1 Regional overview 31 5.2 Geology, substrates and shoreline types 32 5.3 Climate and meteorology 39 5.4 Hydrography 39 5.5 Contamination 43 September 2003 i Contents 4th Strategic Environmental Assessment – Area North & West of Orkney & Shetland 6 ECOLOGY 6.1 Regional overview 49 6.2 Plankton 50 6.3 Benthos 53 6.4 Cephalopods 57 6.5 Fish and commercially exploited shellfish 58 6.6 Marine reptiles 66 6.7 Birds 67 6.8 Marine mammals 85 7 COASTAL AND OFFSHORE CONSERVATION 7.1 Overview 99 7.2 Existing coastal conservation sites within the SEA 4 area 99 7.3 Species conservation within the SEA 4 area 107 7.4 Potential for coastal and offshore sites within the SEA 4 area 107 7.5 Marine and coastal archaeological resources and sites 109 7.6 Unique science priority areas 112 8 USERS OF THE SEA AND COASTAL ENVIRONMENT 8.1 Introduction 113 8.2 Oil and gas 113 8.3 Fisheries 114 8.4 Shipping 118 8.5 Mariculture 120 8.6 Tourism and leisure 121 8.7 Cables 123 8.8 Military activity 123 8.9 Renewable energy 123 8.10 Other users of the coastal environment 124 8.11 Coastal and marine management initiatives 126 9 OTHER EUROPEAN RESOURCES OF POTENTIAL RELEVANCE TO SEA 9.1 Introduction 129 9.2 Norway and the Faroe Islands 129 9.3 Protected sites 132 10 CONSIDERATION OF THE EFFECTS OF LICENSING 10.1 Introduction 135 10.2 Approach 135 Contents Page ii September 2003 4th Strategic Environmental Assessment – Area North & West of Orkney & Shetland 10.3 Consideration of effects 136 10.4 Cumulative and synergistic effects 168 10.5 Transboundary effects 173 10.6 Potential socio-economic implications 174 11 CONCLUSIONS 11.1 Conclusions 189 11.2 Information gaps 192 11.3 Recommendations 192 11.4 Overall conclusion 193 12 REFERENCES 195 Appendix 1: Glossary and Abbreviations A1-1 Appendix 2: Summary of Assessment Workshop A2-1 Appendix 3: Summary of Stakeholder Meeting A3-1 Appendix 4: Species Accounts of Seabirds & Coastal Waterbirds A4-1 September 2003 iii Contents 4th Strategic Environmental Assessment – Area North & West of Orkney & Shetland This page is intentionally blank Contents Page iv September 2003 4th Strategic Environmental Assessment – Area North & West of Orkney & Shetland NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY Background The UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is conducting a sectoral Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the implications of licensing parts of the area north and west of Orkney and Shetland for oil and gas exploration and production (see Figure 1). Figure 1 – The SEA 4 area This SEA (SEA 4) is the fourth in a series planned by the DTI, which will in stages, address the whole of UK waters. The first DTI offshore oil and gas SEA was conducted in 1999/2000 prior to a 19th Round of offshore licensing and covered areas along the formerly disputed median line with the Faroes. SEA 2 was completed in 2001 and considered the main areas of oil and gas production in the North Sea. SEA 3 was finished in 2002 and addressed the remaining parts of the southern North Sea. SEA 4 has been undertaken in line with the European SEA Directive (2001/42/EC, which is required to be implemented by July 2004) with the aim of considering environmental protection and sustainable development objectives in decisions relating to oil and gas licensing in the area to the north and west of Orkney and Shetland. For the purposes of oil and gas licensing, UK waters are divided into quadrants (1º of latitude by 1º longitude) with each quadrant further divided in to 30 blocks, each of approximately 250km2. Blocks within the SEA 4 area were first offered for licensing in 1965. The area covered by SEA 4 comprises some 508.5 blocks of which 33.5 are currently wholly under licence, 33 are partly licensed and partly relinquished, 130 have been licensed but are wholly relinquished, and 312 have not previously been licensed. The proposed action considered by this SEA is the offer of Production Licences for blocks covering parts of the UK continental shelf through a 22nd Round of offshore licensing. SEA 4 was selected as the next in the DTI series based on knowledge of the geology of the area and the availability of existing oil and gas infrastructure. The alternatives to the proposed licensing are not to offer any blocks, or to license a restricted area, or stagger the timing of activity in the area. A requirement under the SEA Directive is consultation with the public, environmental authorities and other bodies, together with such neighbouring states as may be potentially affected. To facilitate consultation, this assessment document is available in a number of different formats and media. For details see the SEA website (http://www.offshore-sea.org.uk) or contact the SEA Coordinator, DTI Oil and Gas Directorate, 86-88 Atholl House, Guild Street, Aberdeen, AB11 6AR. The formal public consultation phase extends for ninety days from the date of publication. September 2003 Page v Non-Technical Summary 4th Strategic Environmental Assessment – Area North & West of Orkney & Shetland The process used to conduct this SEA draws on earlier UK, European and North American examples, and the experience gained and lessons learned from the previous DTI SEAs. Improvements made include the formal involvement of stakeholders at several stages of a SEA and the establishment of a Steering Group drawn from a range of stakeholders, to provide technical and general advice to facilitate the DTI SEA process. The Steering Group, authors of technical reports and key stakeholder representatives also participated in a workshop to identify which oil and gas industry activities might potentially result in significant effects. To contribute to the SEA the DTI commissioned geological and biological surveys of the seabed together with a number of desk-top studies covering a range of topics. These reviews and reports have been used in the preparation of this document. A stakeholder dialogue meeting was held in Nairn on 1 July 2003, facilitated by independent facilitators People=PositiveTM on behalf of the DTI. A wide variety of potential stakeholders, drawn from UK and other regulators, government advisers, local authorities, other industry representatives, academics and NGOs were invited to the session. The potential occurrence of hydrocarbon reserves is assessed through seismic survey. However, the location of commercial hydrocarbon reserves can only be confirmed by drilling a well. Consequently, there is uncertainty in predicting the scale and precise location of hydrocarbon related activities which could follow the proposed licensing. In order to conduct the SEA, possible development and activity scenarios have been prepared for consultation purposes by the DTI based on the geology and results of past exploration. These involve up to 18 exploration wells and the development of up to 4 new producing fields, 2 of which would most probably be through subsea wells tied back to existing facilities with the other 2 developments by means of floating production vessels. The actual scale of activity is dependent on a variety of factors and in particular, oil prices and tax regime. The most likely location of exploration and production activities is expected to be in the blocks close to the existing offshore oilfields. The SEA 4 Environment Water depths and seafloor Water depths gradually deepen out to the continental shelf edge, from where the seabed slopes down into the Faroe-Shetland Channel to the west and the Norwegian Sea to the north where water depths reach 2,400m. The Faroe-Shetland Channel is bounded to the south by the Wyville Thomson Ridge and to the east and west by the continental shelves of the UK and the Faroe Islands. A northwest- southeast oriented branch (the Faroe Ban Channel) leads off the southern end of the Faroe-Shetland Channel and flanks the Wyville Thomson Ridge. Tides and currents Water circulation is dominated by the northward flow of surface water from the North Atlantic through the area, a proportion of which enters the North Sea from the west and the north. Colder and deeper water flows in the opposite direction from the Norwegian Sea through the Faroe-Shetland Channel. The hydrography of the area is complex and water currents (from tides, storms and internal waves) are typically moderate to strong, even in the deeper water parts of the Faroe-Shetland Channel. Seabed sediments In coastal areas, seabed sediments are highly varied and range from exposed bedrock to mud.
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