ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEYS DUE OFF U.K.

U.K. offshore operators plan to help fund compilation of a series of environmental reports on Britain's coastal margins. The cash boost will help speed reports on areas to be licensed under the U.K.'s 16th offshore licensing round, scheduled in 1995. Bidders will have environmental data on sensitive acreage in time to schedule surveying and drilling proposals in line with mating and migration patterns of fish and birds in particular regions, for example.

July 25, 1994

2 min read

U.K. offshore operators plan to help fund compilation of a series of environmental reports on Britain's coastal margins.

The cash boost will help speed reports on areas to be licensed under the U.K.'s 16th offshore licensing round, scheduled in 1995.

Bidders will have environmental data on sensitive acreage in time to schedule surveying and drilling proposals in line with mating and migration patterns of fish and birds in particular regions, for example.

U.K. Offshore Operators Association (Ukooa) said Britain's joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is leading a group of local authorities and government agencies in compiling 16 coastal directories regional reports.

Publication of the entire series is set for December 1996. With Ukooa funding and technical assistance, six regional reports will be made available to operators in draft form by the end of this year. The draft reports will cover U.K.'s east coast, Moray Firth, English Channel, and west coast areas. Applications for 16th round blocks will be required from operators by March 1995, ready for license awards in summer 1995.

The reports will contain environmental data only, including breeding and migration patterns of fish, birds and crustaceans, regular breeding grounds, and sites of special interest. They will not include guidelines for seismic survey and drilling methods.