Development of a Product Screening Protocol to Minimize Marine Environmental Impacts of Oil Production Chemicals Used Offshore

This paper presents the initial results of a research project initiated by Conoco Norway, Inc. (CNI) late in 1989. The objective of the project is to develop a screening protocol for determining the potential environmental impacts of five types of chemicals typically used in offshore oil and gas production operations in the North Sea. The protocol includes tests for determination of bioaccumulation potential, oil-water distribution factor, biodegradation potential, and toxicity. When fully developed, the protocol represents one possible approach to implementing the proposed PARCOM standard testing program. Only the results for the bioaccumulation potential and oil-water distribution factor are presented here. For determination of bioaccumulation potential, the High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is recommended. The oil-water distribution factor can be determined by surrogate parameters as total organic carbon (TOC), UV-absorption or gas chromatography (GC). This factor is critical in sample preparation and evaluation of the environmental fate and effect of oilfield chemicals. Both acute and chronic toxicity should be taken into consideration for evaluation of toxicity. The ratio between the highest likely concentration of the chemical in the environment (Potential Environmental Concentrations - PEC) and the lowest concentration, at which harmful effects are likely to be observed (Minimum Adverse Effect Concentration - MAEC) gives the size of the apparent margin of safety.