Marine Environments

Canada's oil and gas industry takes very seriously its responsibility of minimizing the effects of its operations on marine environments.

The Issue: Respecting the Offshore Environment

In Atlantic Canada, the oil and gas industry operates offshore. These environments are substantially different than onshore operations, and can pose harsh and difficult operating conditions. Our responsibility is to safeguard marine life and ecosystems so that they are not harmed by oil and gas production.

What we’re doing: focusing on prevention

The industry uses a variety of protective measures to protect the offshore environments we work in. When companies plan offshore projects, we identify and analyze potential risks to people and the environment. We establish procedures to reduce or eliminate hazards, train workers to recognize and respond to potential emergencies, and monitor and repair equipment.

Although these events occur very rarely, companies also prepare for such incidents as injuries to workers, oil spills, blowouts, fires and explosions, and vessel collisions.

Spill Prevention

Offshore operators go to great lengths to prevent spills, which are among the greatest environmental challenges in the marine environment. For example, drilling rigs and production platforms are equipped to reduce the chance of a spill, using technology such as blowout preventers and specially designed off-loading systems. As well, workers undergo extensive training and drills in spill prevention.

Platform Protection

Offshore fixed platforms, like the gravity-based structure used for the Hibernia project offshore Newfoundland, have to be designed to withstand the seasonal presence of sea ice and icebergs and other harsh weather conditions. Floating production systems, like those used on the Terra Nova and White Rose oil projects offshore Newfoundland, have the ability to move if ice conditions become too severe or icebergs threaten to move into the immediate vicinity.

Employee Health and Safety

We are emphasizing safety by providing training and education.

Learn more about Employee Health and Safety

Ice Management

Ice management is one of the most unique challenges of operating in some offshore areas, specifically offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. Ice management is important to ensure the safety of employees and to ensure that damage to offshore infrastructure doesn’t occur and lead to environmental damage. Here are some of the unique ways the industry manages ice and icebergs:

Hibernia’s gravity-based system is surrounded by a 15-metre thick ice wall, and built with sharp teeth. The structure can withstand the impact of a six-million-ton iceberg, even though icebergs of that size are only expected once in 10,000 years.
Companies operating offshore use sophisticated over-the-horizon radar that can detect icebergs more than 40 kilometres away. Icebergs can then be “lassoed” and towed away or diverted using high-pressure water jets. Researchers are also using satellite technology to detect icebergs.
Floating production storage and off-loading vessels, like those used at Terra Nova and White Rose, are designed to disconnect quickly from subsea systems so that they can move to other locations if sea ice or icebergs pose a risk.