APACHE NORTH SEA LIMITED Bacchus Production Increase Environmental Statement BEIS Project Reference: D/4256/2020 July 2020 Environmental Statement Apache North Sea Limited Bacchus Production Increase July 2020 This page is intentionally blank Environmental Statement Apache North Sea Limited Bacchus Production Increase July 2020 STANDARD INFORMATION SHEET Project name Bacchus Production Increase Project reference D/4256/2020 number Type of project Production increase Undertaker name Apache North Sea Limited Undertaker address Caledonia House Prime Four Business Park Kingswells Causeway, Aberdeen AB15 8PU Short description The assessment of the environmental impacts from an increase in production from the Bacchus Field in excess of 500 tonnes of oil per day over the current consent threshold, and the drilling of a new infill well. Dates Anticipated Q4 2020 commencement of works Date and reference D/4066/2009; December 2009 number of any earlier Statement related to this project Significant None environmental impacts identified Statement prepared Apache North Sea Limited by Hartley Anderson Limited Environmental Statement Apache North Sea Limited Bacchus Production Increase July 2020 This page is intentionally blank Environmental Statement Apache North Sea Limited Bacchus Production Increase July 2020 CONTENTS Glossary and Abbreviations ........................................................................................ i Non-Technical Summary ............................................................................................ vi 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Apache Environmental Management ............................................................ 2 1.3 Environmental Statement .............................................................................. 2 1.4 Marine Planning ............................................................................................ 5 2 Bacchus Production Increase .............................................................................. 6 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Bacchus and Bacchus South ........................................................................ 6 2.3 Bacchus Facilities ......................................................................................... 7 2.4 Rationale for Further Development ............................................................... 9 2.5 Bacchus South .............................................................................................. 9 2.6 Forties Alpha ............................................................................................... 10 2.7 Bacchus Production Forecasts .................................................................... 13 2.8 Drilling Programme ..................................................................................... 15 2.9 Subsea works .............................................................................................. 18 2.10 Operation ................................................................................................. 19 2.11 Schedule .................................................................................................. 20 2.12 Decommissioning ..................................................................................... 20 3 Environmental Description ................................................................................. 21 3.1 Location ...................................................................................................... 21 3.2 Seabed Topography and Substrates ........................................................... 21 3.3 Climate and Meteorology ............................................................................ 21 3.4 Oceanography and Hydrography ................................................................ 22 3.5 Plankton ...................................................................................................... 22 3.6 Benthos ....................................................................................................... 23 3.7 Fish, Shellfish and Cephalopods ................................................................. 25 3.8 Seabirds ...................................................................................................... 30 3.9 Marine Mammals ......................................................................................... 33 3.10 Conservation Sites and Species .............................................................. 34 Environmental Statement Apache North Sea Limited Bacchus Production Increase July 2020 3.11 Users of the Sea and Offshore Environment ........................................... 35 4 Identification and Screening of Potentially Significant Issues ............................ 42 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 42 4.2 Method ........................................................................................................ 42 4.3 Sources of Potential Environmental Effects ................................................ 44 5 Evaluation of Potentially Significant Issues ........................................................ 51 5.1 Issues Related to Incremental Production ................................................... 51 5.2 Bacchus South Well and Subsea Connection ............................................. 56 5.3 Accidental Events and Major Environmental Incidents ................................ 67 5.4 Cumulative Effects ...................................................................................... 87 5.5 Transboundary Effects ................................................................................ 89 6 Issue Management and Conclusion ................................................................... 91 References ............................................................................................................... 93 Apache North Sea Limited Environmental Statement July 2020 Bacchus Production Increase Page i GLOSSARY AND ABBREVIATIONS Apache Apache North Sea Limited API American Petroleum Institute ATK Helifuel bbl(s) Barrel(s) of oil BECPELAG Biological Effects Monitoring in Pelagic Ecosystems BEIS Department for Business Energy & Industrial Strategy (formerly DECC, the Department of Energy and Climate Change) BOP Blow-out Preventer Cefas Centre for Environmental, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Science CH4 Methane CIP Communication and Interface Plan CNS Central North Sea CO2 Carbon Dioxide CO2 eq. CO2 equivalent DP Dynamic Positioning DHSV Down Hole Safety Valve DSV Diving Support Vessel EC European Commission ECMWF European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts EEMS Environmental Emissions Monitoring System EH&S Environmental, Health and Safety EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMS Environmental Management System ERRV Emergency Response and Rescue Vessel ES Environmental Statement EROD enzymatic induction EU European Union EUOSD Directive 2013/30/EU on safety of offshore oil and gas operations FASP Forties Alpha Satellite Platform FPS Forties Pipeline System GHG Greenhouse Gas GOR Gas:Oil Ratio GWP Global Warming Potential. Emissions metric used to indicate the contribution of a certain gas species to radiative forcing, accounting for the atmospheric lifetime of a given gas relative to CO2, which has a value of 1 (IPCC 2007). Apache North Sea Limited Environmental Statement July 2020 Bacchus Production Increase Page ii HQ Hazard Quotient HP High Pressure HYCOM Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model ICES International Council for the Exploration of the Sea IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change JNCC Joint Nature Conservation Committee km kilometre km2 square kilometres µm micrometre m metre m3/d Rate: cubic metres (oil, gas or water) per day mD millidarcy MAH Major Accident Hazards MEG mono-ethylene glycol mg milligram MCZ Marine Conservation Zone MEI Major Environmental Incident MER Maximising Economic Recovery MIV Manifold Isolation Valve MoD Ministry of Defence MPA Marine Protected Area – MPAs in Scottish waters made under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 as amended and Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (as amended) Mt million tonnes NAO North Atlantic Oscillation NCMPA Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area NEC No Effect Concentration NGL Natural Gas Liquids NOx Oxides of nitrogen NSMB North Sea Member States LTOBM Low Toxicity Oil Based Muds OCES Operators Co-operative Emergency Services OBM Oil Based (drilling) Mud OCNS Offshore Chemical Notification Scheme OGA Oil and Gas Authority OGUK Oil and Gas UK OIW Oil in Water Apache North Sea Limited Environmental Statement July 2020 Bacchus Production Increase Page iii OPEP Oil Pollution Emergency Plan OPPC The Offshore Petroleum Activities (Oil Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2005 OPRED Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning OSCAR Oil Spill Contingency and Response OSPAR The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic 1992 OVI Offshore Vulnerability Index PAH Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons PEC Predicted Environmental Concentration PETS Portal Environmental Tracking System PEXA Practice and Exercise Areas (for military use) PHB Prehydrated bentonite