Offshore

The offshore drilling market continues to grow, as demand for energy increases worldwide, driven by population growth and increased urbanisation.

The maturing of onshore oil fields has shifted the focus of operators towards offshore fields for new exploration & production activities. As we all know, oil prices can be highly volatile, in times of oil price reduction, drilling companies have to capitalise on scale, improve their operational efficiency and reduce their cost base. In addition, the introduction of advanced drilling technology means that operators are entering into deep-water and ultra deep-water zones to enhance their revenue.

Whilst the market and the technology develop within the offshore industry, there remains one overriding consideration; the effect of their operations upon the environment whilst maintaining operational efficiency.

The OSPAR agreement is an example of 16 international contracting parties co-operating to protect the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic. Under the OSPAR agreement, pollution of the marine environment is minimised or prevented by reducing discharges, emissions and other losses of hazardous substances. Chemical suppliers, including lubricants suppliers, must provide national authorities with data about chemicals which are used and discharged offshore. This is enacted via the Harmonised Offshore Chemical Notification Format (HOCNF).

OSPAR defines hazardous substances as those that are persistent, toxic and likely to bio accumulate (PBT substances) or cause an equivalent level of concern as PBT substances. The data set required for HOCNF is used to establish whether the use of any chemicals could have a negative effect upon the marine environment. As such, the data set is extremely thorough and follows specific validated test methods.

The formulators of offshore lubricants have a difficult operational conundrum to resolve; maintain a high degree of operational efficiency and equipment serviceability whilst not damaging the marine environment. Discover how our products have been tested to demonstrate OSPAR compliance in our brochure, allowing formulators to formulate for Offshore applications with confidence.