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Industry and Monitoring in the Arctic
Oil exploration and production in the Arctic presents challenges around biodiversity, extreme temperatures, impacts of climate change, sea ice, remoteness and traditional knowledge and lifestyles of indigenous peoples to name a few. All these challenges need to be addressed in cooperation with local communities and in compliance with regulatory requirements.We assess possible impacts of oil and gas operations on biodiversity from a science perspective while recognizing that communities are often dependent on ecosystem services for their livelihood and culture.
Shell works with many stakeholders, including strategic environmental and community development partners, who advise us on our projects. We also work with NGOs and academics to carry out integrated research and to identify critical habitats and engage independent scientific experts when developing Biodiversity Action Plans for projects operating within areas of high biodiversity value.
We have committed significant amounts of time and resources toward understanding baseline environmental conditions. Since 2006, in Alaska for instance, we have been part of establishing a comprehensive science program to collect information about biodiversity and the subsistence lifestyles that are unique to the Arctic. This research is expected to provide scientific building blocks for generations to come. Other major research projects taking place in various Arctic locations include:
- Acoustic arrays to learn about whale migration and communication;
- Tagging programs of walrus, seals, polar bears and western gray whales;
- Use of aerial drones to ID marine mammals and observe ice conditions;
- Use of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) for sea bottom inspection and ice thickness measurement;
- Ice gouge and strudel scour surveys;
- Coastal stability;
- Water quality, sediment chemistry samples; and
- Benthic Community Analyses
Continuous monitoring of our operations is essential to ensure we avoid, minimize and mitigate biodiversity impacts. We employ marine mammal and seabird observers on all our vessels and aircraft who have the authority to stop any operation if there is a potential wildlife conflict. We also carry out extensive monitoring of underwater sound and its effect on marine mammals to understand their behaviour in polar and cold-water areas. This monitoring is providing ground-breaking scientific research. Together with other operators we have agreed with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that we will make all scientific studies in Alaska available in the public domain.
This article only shows the tip of the iceberg of Shell's commitment to responsible operations in the Arctic, a unique region that needs to be treated with the utmost care by all its stakeholders.
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Offshore oil rig. Photo, Shell
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Indigenous community members. Photo: Shell
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Aerial photo whales. Photo: Shell
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Contact: Robert Blaauw: Senior Advisor Global Arctic Theme, Shell International Exploration and Production B.V.
British Petroleum: Long term ecological monitoring reports
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Fish sampling crew, Photo: BP
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British Petroleum (BP)P has worked on the Alaskan North Slope for more than four decades. Throughout, the company has supported studies on birds, fish, seals, whales, foxes, caribou, bears, and vegetation. Results have been published in reports, technical journals, and books. The work fulfils both regulatory requirements and the company's environmental stewardship aspirations. Importantly, the work is done in collaboration with or under contract to government scientists, NGO scientists, academic scientists, and consultants. Some projects run for no more than a few field seasons. Others, however, have continued for many years. For example, BP has sampled fish in and around Prudhoe Bay since 1981, resulting in a dataset that, among other things, shed light on the life cycle and migration of Arctic cisco (Coregonus autumnalis).
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Long-term Ecological Monitoring in BP's North Slope Oil Fields report
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Recognizing the importance of long-term studies in a changing Arctic, and understanding that the detailed findings from each project would be neither accessible nor comprehensible to many non-specialists, in 2006 BP began compiling a summary of all long-term studies its "Long-term Ecological Monitoring in BP's North Slope Oil Fields" report, usually published annually. The report is written to allow a quick, basic snapshot of trends over time, but each chapter ends with detailed references.
From the outset, BP has hoped to see the report inspire a collaborative effort across the entire North Slope, perhaps filling information gaps while also identifying trends that warrant more intensive study or changes in management practices. For copies of the most recent summary report, please contact Bill Streever.
Contact: Bill Streever, Environmental Studies Leader, British Petroleum, Alaska
Sustainable Fishery Greenland (SFG) is an association among fishing companies, fish processors and organizations in Greenland. SFG works for a sustainable fishery in Greenlandic waters, and the primary goal is to achieve MSC-certification of the prawn fishery. The major stakeholders in SFG are Polar Seafood, Royal Greenland and KNAPK (The Association of Fishermen and Hunters).
Over the last four years, substantial improvements in the management of the prawn fishery has been obtained, and the knowledge about the environmental impact of the fishery has been dramatically enhanced, all of this with the purpose of meeting the MSC standard.
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Arctic seabed, research efforts by Sustainable Fisheries Greenland.
Photo: Kirsty Kemp
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This has inspired two industry-governed research programs. The first is a three year research of the seabed, started in 2011 and carried out by Zoological Museum in London in corporation with the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources. In this study, bottom photography and substrate samples are taken during the yearly prawn survey on both trawled and un-trawled areas to get an indication of fishing impact and to improve knowledge of what can be encountered in terms of corals and sponges. Pictures and samples are analyzed and substrate identified.
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Research vessel used for Sustainable Fisheries Greenland activities. Photo: Kirsty Kemp
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The second is a Ph.D. study, economically also supported by the government of Greenland. This study started in 2012, and the objectives are to define Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VME) in a Greenlandic context, do surveys to identify VMEs in a closed area and try to work with trawl cameras on commercial vessels. This study will take four years.
By initiating research programs, SFG will be able to answer some of the requests raised in the MSC standard, but the outcome should also be considered a help to improve general knowledge and to manage the fishery in a more sustainable way.
Contact: Lisbeth Due Schonemann-Paul: Corporate Sustainability and Environmental Manager, Royal Greenland
Baseline studies and consultation regarding Alcoa's aluminium project in Greenland
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Community consultation with fishermen. Photo: Alcoa
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In 2007, Alcoa began evaluating the feasibility for an approximately 340,000 metric ton per year aluminium smelter and related hydroelectric power facility in southwestern Greenland.
The first step in this process was the development of a Regional Strategic Environmental Assessment, led by the Government of Greenland, which evaluated the overall sustainability of the proposed project and how it could affect environmental and social conditions within Greenland as a whole and at numerous alternative sites for the project.
After extensive public input on the Strategic Environmental Assessment, a site near the town of Maniitsoq, western Greenland, was chosen for detailed study by Alcoa through an Environmental, Social, and Health Impact Assessment. Alcoa employed a highly participatory approach to the impact assessment, building on the results and stakeholder involvement from the Strategic Environmental Assessment. Extensive baseline studies covered ecology (caribou, Arctic char, goose, rare plants,breeding birds), cultural resources, social (natural resource livelihood, human health, socio-economic), and physical sciences (geology, hydrology, and meteorology). Many of the studies were conducted by Greenlandic and Danish specialists and involved participation by and/or consultation with local citizens. Modelled after Alcoa and Landsvirkjun's Sustainability Initiative for the Alcoa Fjardaal smelter in east Iceland, Alcoa, in partnership with the Government of Greenland, led an extensive public consultation effort to engage interested local, national, and international stakeholders to identify the key sustainability issues in western Greenland, determine how the proposed Project could influence these issues, and identify ways that the proposed Project, either by itself or through partnerships with other stakeholders, could contribute to the sustainable development of the region.
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Baseline studies on caribou. Photo: Alcoa
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The project is currently on hold awaiting decisions from the Government of Greenland and Alcoa. Should the Project proceed, work will resume on the Environmental, Social, and Health Impact Assessment and sustainability initiative and should be completed within a year of re-engagement.
Contact: Kristján Halldórsson, Alcoa Inc.
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