TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractDuring the past 2 years the policy within the North-Sea countries with regards to regulating use and discharge of chemicals offshore has changed. The work on harmonization of regulations has progressed through the Oslo and Paris Commission (OSPAR), the European regulatory body for the offshore environmental issues. However, d espite the outspoken efforts to establish a harmonized chemical hazard and risk evaluation and control system, many countries have continued to use their own systems.

TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractThis paper presents the results of aggressive chemical development and replacement programs for stimulation chemicals for worldwide application.

During the past 2 years the policy within the North-Sea countries with regards to regulating use and discharge of chemicals offshore has changed. The work on harmonization of regulations has progressed through the Oslo and Paris Commission (OSPAR), the European regulatory body for the offshore environmental issues. However, despite the outspoken efforts to establish a harmonized chemical hazard and risk evaluation and control system, many countries have continued to use their own systems. This paper describes the current trend in the oil and gas industry towards zero discharge of offshore chemicals. Operational as well as regulatory view points are given. The zero discharge trend is viewed against several policies of OSPAR, e.g. the Action Plan 1998–2003, Strategy with regard to hazardous substances and the Harmonized Mandatory Control System (HMCS). The various ways in which the North-Sea countries have implemented the OSPAR guidelines so far and the relationship of zero discharge with for example the development of more environmentally acceptable chemicals are discussed. The role of the revised Chemical Hazard and Risk Management (CHARM) Model is also taken into this review. From their own experience the three major service companies describe how this affects the development and use of certain chemicals. Background During the last 2 years OSPAR (Oslo and Paris commission) has continued its harmonization efforts on regulating the use and discharge of offshore chemicals. The Harmonized Mandatory Control System (HMCS) that was introduced with PARCOM 96/31 for a trial period of 2 years was extended for another 2years. Experience has been built among industry and regulating authorities from applying the principles of the HMCS on the evaluation of chemicals. This has led to a replacement of several chemicals that were expected to give high environmental impact. Progress in the replacement of chemicals has been welcomed by the industry. The service companies have taken a leading role in this work and have invested significant resources over the past years to obtain these results. However, the experience gained from applying the HMCS on chemical evaluation also revealed a need for revision.

TX 75083-3836 U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractAn effective approach to the global issue of chemical management, based on Gulf Coast and North Sea experience in wellbore stimulation, is described. This paper presents the results of aggressive chemical development and replacement programs for stimulation chemicals for worldwide application.

This paper describes how chemical hazard and risk assessment systems are being used in North Sea countries. Despite efforts to establish a harmonised chemical hazard and risk system, many countries have developed their own systems. For this reason, three major service companies have been working together to evaluate the CHARM III model (Chemical Hazard Assessment and Risk Management) and the accepted chemical hazard and risk assessment systems. Initially implemented by the Oslo Paris Commission (OSPAR), the European regulatory body for offshore environmental issues, CHARM III was a significant step towards developing a simple model that generated consistent hazard/risk evaluation results. During the harmonisation process, the North Sea countries also made attempts to develop a harmonised mandatory control system. Currently, four North Sea countries still rely on their own chemical evaluation systems. The three service companies have used the CHARM III model to perform chemical hazard evaluations on a representative range of cementing, completion, workover and spacer chemicals. The same chemicals were also evaluated with the different pre-screen systems used by the North Sea countries.