Monitoring of the Norwegian continental shelf 

 

Purpose

• Gain an overview, and knowledge, of the extent of pollution emanating from the offshore activity, including environmental effects
• Gain an overview of the general conditions and the developments concerning the various installations in the area

The results will be used for:

• Early warning of aggravation of the environmental situation
• Preparation of forecasts for expected environmental conditions
• Verification of models for calculating environmental risk as a function of the existing and expected discharges from the offshore industry
• Verification of the laboratory-based research to increase the knowledge of possible environmental impacts of discharges from petroleum activity
• Assessment of the risk of damage to the environment and ecological effects

The reports and results will be published after they have been reported.
Environmental monitoring at sea includes both monitoring of seabed sediments and monitoring of the water column.

The Norwegian Pollution Control Authority (SFT) shall ensure that monitoring activities comply with the framework conditions laid down by the authorities.

For practical reasons, the Norwegian continental shelf has been divided into 11 regions. There is currently production activity in nine of these regions.

Three regions are monitored each year.

The programme for each year is jointly drawn up by the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority and the Norwegian Oil Industry Association (OLF).

Studies are carried out by independent consultants, and the results are reported to the authorities and the authorities’ expert group.