Pipe-Lines
DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
THE OFFSHORE PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND PIPE-LINES (ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS) REGULATIONS 1999 (AS AMENDED)
ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT DECISION AND GRANT OF CONSENT
BLYTHE HUB DEVELOPMENT
Pursuant to regulations 5A(7), 5A(8) and 16 of the above Regulations, the Secretary of State gives notice of agreement to the grant of consent given by the Secretary of State under regulation 5A of the above Regulations, and notice of the consents for the Blythe, Elgood and Southwark fields granted by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA).
Having regard to the Environmental Statement (ES) of 01 February 2018, the ES addendum of 30 August 2019 and the consolidated additional information of 25 February 2020 submitted under the above Regulations, and any representations received from consultees and in response to the public notice, the Secretary of State has assessed the project as not likely to have a significant effect on the environment and has agreed to the grant of consent. A summary of the Secretary of State’s decision and the relevant consents granted by the OGA is detailed below.
| Reference | Operator | Project Name | Quad / Block | Agreement Decision Issued | OGA Consent Granted |
| D/4208/2018 | IOG North Sea Limited and IOG UK Ltd. (IOG) | Blythe Hub Development | 48/22, | 29 April 2020 | 30 April 2020 |
| 48/23 and | |||||
| 49/21 | |||||
| OGA Consent Details | Consent for the development of and production from the Blythe, Elgood and Southwark fields (development and production consent) (Licence P1915, P2260, P1736) was granted by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) on 30 April 2020. The Blythe development consists of a normally unmanned installation (NUI) with one well. The Elgood development consists of a well tied back to the Blythe installation. A 6” 9.1 km flowline will produce hydrocarbons back to the Blythe platform. A 5” 9.1 km control umbilical will link Blythe to Elgood. Both fields will produce gas and condensate, which will be comingled at Blythe and exported via a 12” 24.5 km pipeline which ties into a 24” export pipeline connected onshore at Bacton gas terminal. The Southwark field will produce gas and condensate and consist of a small NUI and three wells. Export will be via a 5.9 km pipeline to the existing 24” export pipeline which connects to Bacton gas terminal. | ||||
| Contents of the regulation 5A decision | Following review of the ES of 01 February 2018 for the proposed developments and the comments received from consultees, IOG was requested to submit an ES addendum and a consolidated document of additional information (both of which were subject to further public notice and consultation). Following a review of these, the Secretary of State was content to approve the ES and to agree to the OGA granting the necessary consents. | ||||
| Main reasons and considerations on which the regulation 5A decision is based | The ES identified atmospheric emissions, marine discharges, deposits of materials on the seabed, seabed excavation operations, and interference with other users of the sea. | ||||
| The environmental sensitivities and potential impacts were adequately discussed and assessed in the ES, the ES addendum and the consolidated additional information and the Secretary of State is satisfied that the project will not have a significant adverse impact on the receiving environment, the living resources it supports, any protected habitats or species or other users of the sea. | |||||
| Summary of representations received | Responses to the ES of 01 February 2018 were received from The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Natural England (NE), Trinity House (TH), Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA), the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), the Ministry of Defence (MoD); responses to the ES addendum of 30 August 2019 were received from JNCC, MOD, and MCA; a response to the consolidated additional information was received from JNCC. No representations against the proposals were received from interested parties post the public consultations. | ||||
| Details of how representations received were taken into account | Comments on the ES of 01 February 2018 were forwarded to IOG and were addressed in an ES addendum and a consolidated document of additional information which were both subject to a repeat of the consultation and a new public notice. No representations against the proposals were received, and the Secretary of State was content that all previous comments had been addressed by the developer. | ||||
| Any environmental conditions | No environmental conditions were attached to the agreement to the OGA granting the necessary consents. | ||||
| Any mitigation measures or features | The proposals will be undertaken in line with industry best practice and in accordance with the commitments detailed in the ES, the ES addendum and the consolidated additional information. No significant adverse impacts are anticipated that would warrant additional mitigation measures. | ||||
| Any monitoring conditions | No significant adverse impacts are anticipated that would warrant additional monitoring conditions. | ||||
Further information in relation to the ES decision and a copy of this notice can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/oil-and-gas-environmental-statements-reviewed.
Any person aggrieved by the grant of consent can apply to the court under regulation 16 of the above Regulations. The court may grant an order quashing the grant of consent where it is satisfied that the consent granted was in contravention of the requirements of regulation 5(4) or 5A(1)(a) of the above Regulations (consideration of environmental statement etc.) or that the interests of the applicant have been substantially prejudiced by any failure to comply with any other requirement of those Regulations. An application must be made within six weeks from the date that this notice is published in the Gazettes.
If you have any questions in relation to the notice or the decision, please contact the Environmental Management Team, Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED), AB1 Building, Crimon Place, Aberdeen AB10 1BJ (e-mail: BST@beis.gov.uk or Tel: 01224 254138).