BP 2010 Annual Report Download - page 74

Businessreview
Oil spill response plans
Wecontinuetodevelopandassimilatelessonsfromtheresponsetothe
GulfofMexicooilspill,whichweplantoincorporateintoourOMS–
specicallyonoilspillpreparednessandresponse.
AllofBP’soperationsarerequiredtocomplywithallapplicable
laws,includingthoserequirementsrelatingtodealingwiththe
environmentalimpactofoilspillsorleaks,inallregionswhereweoperate.
WithinOMS,BPhasacontroldocumentoncrisisandcontinuity
managementthatcoversrecommendationsandapprovedgoodpractice.
OMSalsorequiresenvironmentalrisksandhazardstobeidentiedand
managed,includingthoserelatedtounplannedeventse.g.oilspills.
Country-specicregulatorsrequiresuchplanstobeinplaceandapproved
aspartofourlicencetooperate.
Wecompleteenvironmentalimpactassessments(EIAs)formany
ofourprojects,whichincludeinformationonthepotentialenvironmental
impactthatmightoccurintheeventofaspill,andusemodellingand
predictiveassessmentsofwhereandhowoilmightimpactidentied
environmentallysensitivesites,speciesorcommerciallyvulnerablesites.
Wethenformulatecrisismanagementandoilspillplans,building
offtheinformationintheEIA.Environmentallysensitiveareasaremapped,
preventativeresponseplansagreed,andclean-upandremediation
proceduresestablishedtodetermineclean-upendpoints.Theseplans
addresspotentialscenariosandresponsestrategies,includinghowwe
wouldworkwithdesignatedregulatorybodiesintheeventofaspilland
whatpersonnelandequipmentwouldbeneeded.
Theresponsetechniqueswiththeleastenvironmentalimpactare
usuallyagreedbasedonthesensitivityoftherelevantenvironment.In
manycountrieswhereBPoperates,theregulatorwilldetermineandagree
ontheprocedurestodealwiththeenvironmentalimpact.
Acuteresponseplansareoftenfocusedonthephysical
containmentandrecoveryofthespilledoil,thoughtheywillalsorecognize
thatcomponentsindispersedoilwillbesubjecttoprocessesof
biodegradation,whichmaybefacilitatedandacceleratedbytheapplication
ofchemicaldispersants.
Thepotentialactionsduringtheacutestagesofanoffshorespill
responseinclude:
• Boomscanbeplacedaroundthespilltogathertheoil.Acurtainis
attachedtoitsundersidetopreventtheoilfromslidingoutunderneath
itandspreadingfurther.
• Sorbentscanabsorbtheoil.
• Insituburningcanbeusedtoreducetheamountofoilonthewater.
• Skimmingequipmentcanbeplacedaroundtheareatoscoopitfrom
thewater’ssurface.
• Chemicaldispersantscanhelptheoilbreakupmorequicklyandmix
moreeasilywiththewatercolumn.Specicdispersantshavebeen
developedfordifferentoils.Thenetenvironmentalbenetofusing
chemicaldispersantsshouldalwaysbeconsideredandassessed
beforeuse.
Foronshoreoperations,BP’srenerieseachhavedetailedspillresponse
plansthatincludepassiveandactivecontainmentmeasuresthatare
appropriatefortheirspeciclocationandtypeofoperation.
InconjunctionwiththeUSauthorities,BPhasgainedsignicant
experienceincombatingandmitigatingamajoroilrelease.Thelearnings
fromourspillresponseexperiencewillbeincorporatedintothecurrent
remediationplansandproceduresandalsosharedwithgovernments,
regulatorsandtheindustryworld-wide.
Intheunlikelyeventofmultipleconcurrentspills,eachaffected
facilitywouldactivateitsindependentoilspillresponseplanandrespond
accordingly.Althoughrespondingtomultiplespillsofthesamemagnitude
andcomplexityasoccurredintheGulfofMexicowouldbeachallengefor
thegroup,ourresponseplansarenotinterdependent.Further,theplansdo
notcontainphysicalornancialconstraints–BPiscommittedtodevoting
suchresourcesasarenecessarytomitigatetheconsequencesofanyspill
topeopleandtheenvironment.
BPhasalsojoinedtheMarineWellContainmentCompany(MWCC)and
willmakeourunderwaterwellcontainmentequipmentavailabletoalloil
andgascompaniesoperatingintheGulfofMexico.Thewellcontainment
equipmentusedintheGulfofMexicooilspillresponsewillpreserve
existingcapabilityforusebytheoilandgasindustryintheUSGulfof
Mexico,whiletheMWCCmembercompaniesbuildasystemthatexceeds
currentresponsecapabilities.BPhasalsoofferedtomakeavailabletothe
MWCCBPtechnicalpersonnelwithexperiencefromtheGulfofMexicooil
spillresponse.BPconsidersthatthedeepwaterinterventionexperience
andspecializedequipmentwillbeimportanttotheindustryasawholeas
wellastheMWCC.InadditiontotheMWCC,weworkwithalloftheother
sevenmajorinternationalspillresponseorganizationsintheworld.
SeeGulfofMexicooilspillonpages34-39forfurtherinformation
onBP’sresponsetotheincident.
Gulf of Mexico – environmental impact and long-term
commitments
TheGulfofMexicooilspillaffectedwater,shores,marshlandsandwildlife.
Immediatelyfollowingtheaccident,BPandpersonnelfromtheUSNational
OceanicandAtmosphericAssociation,theUSEnvironmentalProtection
Agency(EPA),andmanyothergovernmentalagenciesbeganpatrollingthe
watersoftheGulf,samplingthewaterslookingforresidualoil,orinjured
birdsandmarinelife.BPhasworkedtosupporttestingandsampling
throughouttheregion.
BPiscommittedtounderstandingthelong-termenvironmental
impactsoftheoilspill.InJune2010,weestablishedtheGCROtomanage
allaspectsoftheimmediateresponsetotheincidentandourlong-term
effortstorestoretheregionalenvironment.
InpartnershipwiththeGulfofMexicoAlliance,wehavesetupthe
GulfofMexicoResearchInitiative(GRI),pledgingtoprovide$500millionto
studyandmonitorthespill’spotentialimpactsontheenvironmentandlocal
publichealth.
SeeGulfofMexicooilspillonpages34-39forfurtherinformation
onBP’sresponsetotheincident.
Canadian oil sands
Canada’soilsandsarebelievedtoholdoneoftheworld’slargestuntapped
suppliesofoil,secondinsizeonlytotheresourcesinSaudiArabia.BPis
involvedinthreeoilsandsprojects,allofwhicharelocatedintheprovince
ofAlberta.DevelopmentoftheSunriseproject,ourjointventureoperated
byHuskyEnergy,isunderway,withproductionexpectedtostartin2014.
Theothertwoproposedprojects,PikeandTerredeGrace,arestillinthe
earlystagesofdevelopment.
WereviewedandapprovedthedecisiontoinvestinCanadianoil
sandsprojects,takingintoconsiderationGHGemissions,impactsonland,
wateruseandlocalcommunities,andcommercialviability.Aswithalljoint
venturesinwhichwearenottheoperator,wewillmonitortheprogressof
theseprojectsandthemitigationofrisk.
Theextractionprocessweplantouse,in-situsteam-assisted
gravitydrainagetechnology,involvestheinjectionofsteamunderground.
Thesteamliqueesthebitumen,allowingittoowtothesurfacethrough
productionwells.Unlikemining,in-situdevelopmentcreatesasmaller
physicalfootprintanddoesnotinvolvetailingponds.
Climate change
Climatechangeisamajorglobalissue–onethatjustiesprecautionary
actionandrepresentsasignicantchallengeforsociety,theenergy
industry,andBP.
OurGHGemissionswere64.9Mtein2010,comparedwith
65.0Mtein2009a.WehavenotincludedanyemissionsfromtheGulfof
Mexicoincidentandtheresponseeffortduetoourreluctancetoreport
datathathassuchahighdegreeofuncertainty.
aWereportGHGemissions,onaCO2-equivalentbasis,includingCO2andmethane.Thisrepresents
allconsolidatedentitiesandBP’sshareofequity-accountedentitiesexceptTNK-BP.
72BPAnnualReportandForm20-F2010