The E&P industry is committed to maintaining operating practices which comply with national and international regulations concerning production chemical effluents, drill cuttings disposal and environmental hazards. In addition, many companies recognise the benefits of active participation in RTD on environmental issues to ensure that they and the legislators are scientifically well informed. Effective, affordable environmental protection measures are the goal, with much of the industry funded research conducted through multi-company consortia. Collaboration with public sector agencies is also common, especially on studies addressing environmental impact assessment.

RTD objectives in this area are presented in Tables 19, 20 and 21. Emissions to the atmosphere are outside the scope of this report.

Table 19 Handling produced solids

Table 20 Production fluids handling

Table 21 Environmental impact assessment