Identifying the possible impacts of rock dump from oil and gas decommissioning on Annex I mobile sandbanks.

This project aims to evidence possible impacts associated with rock dumping during the decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure on mobile Annex I sandbanks which are slightly covered by seawater all the time, using North Norfolk Sandbanks and Saturn Reef cSAC/SCI as a case study.

Project Background

The next three decades will see a major decommissioning of UK oil and gas infrastructure with >8,000 platforms, pipelines and wells needing decommissioning around the UK. Within offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), there are challenges and complexities beyond that of decommissioning activities out with MPAs as the potential impacts of human activities must be assessed against the conservation objectives established and advised by JNCC for the site. There are considerable scientific uncertainties around the impacts associated with the process of decommissioning, none more so than where decommissioning occurs on or near Annex I tidal current (mobile) sandbanks.

Industry, regulators and Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (SNCBs) alike must comply with obligations set out in environmental legislation, and face individual sets of challenges in understanding potential impacts within MPAs. JNCC‘s role within national and European legislation is to establish and advise on conservation objectives for MPAs, and with the SNCBs, to provide advice on whether potential impacts associated with human activities may have an adverse effect on protected features or site integrity. Industry faces challenges regarding fulfilling their environmental obligations and regulators need to be able to introduce risk-based procedures for assessing effect in consenting operations. Within MPAs, competent authorities, having considered advice given from the appropriate statutory nature conservation body, must assess the proposed operations against the site’s conservation objectives.

Improving our understanding of how decommissioning operations can effect Annex I mobile sandbanks would support the provision of more robust advice to regulators and other interested parties, support site specific and national assessments of impacts and allow competent authorities to undertake a more robust decision-making process.

Additional information: You are invited by JNCC Support Co. (JNCC) to submit a tender for the supply of works and services required under the above project.

You should download and read carefully the following documents:

1. Invitation to tender letter (complete proforma)

PS12 JNCC travel and accommodation rates

PS26 JNCC anti-virus policy document

JNCC Evidence Quality policy

To be eligible for consideration your tender must arrive by 16:00 hours on Wednesday 26 October 2016. Please submit your return by email to the following address: TenderResponse@jncc.gov.uk.

Having considered the requirements of this contract please confirm under signature on the proforma attached to the invitation to tender letter (ITT) that there will be no conflict of interest between this contractual relationship and any other contractual relationship with any other third party and your acceptance of our Terms and Conditions.

Further information can be found here by following the link below:

http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-7314