Drilling down into onshore oil and gas industry noise

Calum Forsyth, CEO of IAC Acoustics, discusses the issue of noise within the onshore oil and gas industry, and the importance of practical noise mitigation technology in helping the sector expand in the UK.

The onshore oil and gas sector in Europe has arrived at a critical point in its development. On the face of it, recent technological advances have brought a whole raft of potential additional resources within reach of exploration and production companies. These include hydrocarbons held in unconventional source rock, such as shale.

For some countries in Europe, such as Poland, the prospect of recovering untapped oil and gas on a substantial scale is a prize well worth pursuing to provide a greater level of energy security. Yet for others, such as France, the application of new technologies like hydraulic fracturing is proving to be politically unacceptable, with moratoriums either in place or being actively sought by opponents.

As many E&P companies already recognise, while the geological potential across Europe for unconventional resources is significant, we are unlikely to witness a repeat of the American experience for a number of political and environmental factors. These include, most notably, the generally greater level of population density across Europe compared to North America, which means that exploring for hydrocarbons onshore in Europe is unlikely to be achieved out of sight, mind or even out of ear shot. As a result, even those nations that have a national policy promoting onshore exploration are affected by local level opposition to the practice – and these tensions are starting to show.

Nowhere is this volatile picture more starkly illustrated than in the UK, where the Government has recently announced its intention to seek bidders for a 14th round of onshore hydrocarbon exploration licences.

One look at the recently updated British Geological Society map of possible unconventional resources in the UK puts the issue into sharp focus, as much of the potential source rock lies under some of the most densely populated areas of the country.

The battle over the UK’s nascent unconventional hydrocarbon industry is being fought therefore at a local level through the British planning system. And while the media continues to focus on and debate the pros and cons of hydraulic fracturing, in reality opponents on the ground are highlighting the local impacts associated with onshore exploration that are common with many other forms of development: namely traffic, visual impact and, perhaps most importantly, noise.

The latter issue was recently illustrated at an exploration site operated by Cuadrilla Resources near the village of Balcombe, West Sussex, which reportedly had to temporarily suspend operations in September 2013 because the UK Environment Agency believed the operator had exceeded noise levels that were a condition of its planning approval. These were set at 55 decibels between 7:30am and 6:30pm Monday to Friday and 42 decibels for the remainder of the week. Whilst additional noise mitigation measures were subsequently implemented by Cuadrilla, there had clearly been a negative impact on the operator’s reputation and its relationship with local residents and national media alike.

This and other similar incidents have put the issue of noise firmly on the agenda when exploration companies engage in public consultation about their plans for a site. Furthermore it must be expected that planning officials and environmental regulators have also had their eyes (and ears) opened to the issue and will be demanding increasingly robust noise mitigation measures to be in place going forward. Indeed, in July 2013 the UK Government published a new set of ‘Planning practice guidance for onshore oil and gas’ that identifies noise as being one of the key issues to be considered as part of the planning process. Central to this is the need for operators to conduct robust noise mapping assessments to accurately document the baseline level of ambient noise prior to any operations commencing.

While the difference in terms of intensity of exploration and scale are obvious between Europe and the US, the maturity of the industry in the latter means that practical solutions to the challenge of noise are already established. The industry has successfully focused on noise abatement originating from the drilling operations, and from access to and from the site. IAC Acoustics has been active in the development of these solutions, such as temporary sound walls and noise suppression of the generator plants. In Europe the latter is of particular significance, as it is believed that many of the rigs that will eventually be deployed will be electrically powered, with a view to limiting the noise profile.

2014 is expected by many to be a pivotal year for the future of onshore exploration in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. As such, E&P companies face many challenges. Noise is sometimes referred to as the least significant of environmental pollutants and the hardest to address, which is why it is can be overlooked as an issue in well site design. Evidence from the UK however is now proving that ignoring the issue could end up being expensive both in terms of avoidable delays and reputational damage; both of which the industry could live without.

Adapted by David Bizley

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/exploration/13022014/drilling_down_into_onshore_oil_and_gas_industry_noise/