Oil related processes
The process of production in the oil industry can roughly be divided into three parts:
The exploration phase, the production phase and the abandonment phase.
Let us dive into the differences and potential consequences of these processes.
Exploration and extraction are aspects mentioned in the lawsuit, here we have also included abandonment phase.
Exploration phase
Before the oil industry can start production, they have to explore. This includes seismic activity and mapping of the ocean floor and crust of the earth beneath the water to find out if there are any potential spaces that holds oil.
The explorations on the Norwegian continental shelf is mostly funded by the norwegian government as the goverment gets large ammount of income from oil production through taxes.
After the mapping, the industry has to conduct several assessments to evaluate the potential profit from production, risk of production and considering "petroleumsforskriften", they also have to evaluate climate and sustainability.
Production phase
Boats drivind to and from the platforms, staff members hastily navigating around on the platform, doing the tasks of the day, keeping the oil pumping.
The production phase is when the oil rig is being installed and the oil is pumped up. These processes can cause disturbances to local ecosystems, and the most devastating risk factor is oil spills. The risk of oil spills are especially high in the Barents sea due to rough weather.
However, this is also tha most profitable part of the project and a large source of income for the norwegian state. But is it really profitable considering the production in the Barents sea?
Abandonment phase
No more oil, all of the oil and gas has now been pumped up.
The rig stands tall, but no one is hasting around, working.
The underground area that was previously filled with oil and gas is now full of water to keep the pressure up.
The pipe hole down is filled with cement.
The pipes are also filled with cement and buried under concrete on the ocean floor.
Fish that lived under the mud circle over the concrete covered pipes, searching for new homes.
