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
BACCHUS PRODUCTION INCREASE
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 Bacchus field granted by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA).
Having regard to the Environmental Statement (ES) of 15 July 2020 submitted under the above Regulations, the further information provided under regulation 10 of these 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/4256/2020 | Apache North Sea Limited | Bacchus Production Increase | 22/06c | 12 November 2020 | 26 November 2020 |
| OGA Consent Details | Consent for the further development of the Bacchus field and resultant increase in production levels (as detailed in the Field Development Plan Addendum) (Licence P255) was granted by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) on 26 November 2020. The further development of the Bacchus field will consist of a single well to be tied-back via a 100 m production flexible and 160 m umbilical to the existing Bacchus manifold. Fluids will be transported from the Bacchus manifold through the existing Bacchus production pipeline to the Forties Alpha platform (Block 21/10) for processing. | ||||
| Contents of the regulation 5A decision | Following review of the ES submitted on 15 July 2020, for the further development and resultant increase in production at the Bacchus field, and the comments received from consultees, Apache North Sea Limited (Apache) was requested to provide further information. Following review of that further information, provided on 21 September 2020 and 12 October 2020, it was determined that this did not change the potential environmental impacts, or the assessment of significance described in the ES. It was concluded that the further information was not of material relevance to the decision and therefore no further public consultation was required. The Secretary of State was therefore content to approve the ES and to agree to the OGA granting the necessary consent. | ||||
| Main reasons and considerations on which the regulation 5A decision is based | The ES identified the physical presence and disturbance of the seabed of the drilling rig and subsea infrastructure, discharges to sea, atmospheric emissions, underwater noise and accidental events as having the potential to result in an environmental impact. | ||||
| The environmental sensitivities and potential impacts were adequately discussed and assessed in the ES, 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 submitted on 15 July 2020 were received from The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Marine Scotland Science (MSS), The Northern Lighthouse board (NLB), Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), and the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The ES was also subject to public notice and no representations on the proposals were received. | ||||
| Details of how representations received were taken into account | The responses to the ES submitted on 15 July 2020 were reviewed and comments that required to be addressed were forwarded to Apache. Further information was provided by Apache on 21 September 2020 and 12 October 2020. No representations against the proposals were received in response to the public notice for the ES, and the Secretary of State was content that the further information addressed all of the issues that were raised. | ||||
| Any environmental conditions | No environmental conditions were attached to the agreement to the OGA granting the necessary consent. | ||||
| Any mitigation measures or features | The proposals will be undertaken in line with best industry practice and in accordance with the commitments detailed in the ES. 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), by email: BST@beis.gov.uk.