Environment Offshore

The environmental requirements to be met on an offshore installation are laid down pursuant to the Subsoil Act (Consolidated Act No. 526 of 11 June 2002 on the Use of the Danish Subsoil), as well as the Marine Environment Protection Act (Consolidated Act No. 925 of 28 September 2005 on the Protection of the Marine Environment).

Environmental supervision is shared by the Danish Energy Authority and the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency lays down requirements regarding the quantity of substances and materials that may be discharged into the atmosphere and the sea (the external environment), while the Danish Energy Authority draws up design requirements that offshore installations must meet in order to observe the principle of using the Best Available Techniques (BAT) to reduce harmful environmental impacts.

Applications to the Danish Energy Authority for approval of a development plan for oil and gas fields pursuant to the Subsoil Act and the establishment of pipelines pursuant to the Continental Shelf Act (Consolidated Act No. 1101 of 18 November 2005 on the Continental Shelf) must be accompanied by an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and an account of the measures taken to reduce such impact, including by means of BAT.

However, in some cases this type of application does not require an Environmental Impact Assessment. The criteria appears from the Danish Energy Authority’s Executive Order No. 884 of 21 September 2000 on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of Projects to Produce Hydrocarbons and Establish Pipelines in the Danish Sea Territory and Continental Shelf Area.