The third edition of this NORSOK standard is a complete revision of the previous edition, focusing on the following elements:

• to describe the decision process at the various stages of design development and the environmental issues related to these;
• to identify the main criteria for the decisions to be made;
• to identify analytical tools and methods that can be used to arrive at specific requirements for the individual contracts;
• to provide a format for documenting the output of these decision processes which can be used in different contract forms for the execution phase of a project.

The rationale for this structure, which differs considerably from other NORSOK standards, is that there are few pre-accepted solutions that are applicable to all projects with respect to environmental issues. Previous editions of this NORSOK standard have also included many options to explore and solutions to consider. Many of these considerations have to be done in an early stage of the project development, and are usually per­formed by the operating company internally and/or by a FEED contractor prior to project execution. Many of the statements in this NORSOK standard are difficult to handle contractually, and it is therefore necessary to supplement this NORSOK standard with specific requirements in the execution contracts.

The intention with the third edition is that this NORSOK standard is considered to be a guideline for use internally in the operating companies and possibly in FEED contracts. It will have to be supplemented by other contract documents, such as the design basis and/or other specifications during execution. The functional requirements in this NORSOK standard are listed in tabular form in 5.2 to 9.3, and the blank column to the right may be used to fill in brief statements regarding the conclusions of studies, analyses and decisions with references to other contract documents when relevant. Thus this NORSOK standard constitutes a template for creating an operator’s document for documenting and tracing the environmental decisions that are made during the project cycle.

The objective of this NORSOK standard is to achieve implementation of technology that minimizes adverse impacts on the environment. The most cost effective technical and/or operational solutions should be sought, based on the principle of BAT and life cycle cost analyses.

This NORSOK standard includes criteria and methods for establishing limitations for emissions to air, discharges to sea, for selection and handling of chemicals and for waste management. Furthermore, some options regarding technologies that may be applied to achieve the environmental objectives are listed. Project specific requirements will be the result of analyses and evaluations for the actual project, and these results can be entered into an open column adjacent to the functional requirement/objective in this NORSOK standard with a reference to more detailed contract documents, when relevant.

Guidelines for drilling rigs are presented, which may be used in drilling contracts, are presented in Annex C. This is also in the form of optional requirements, where the operating company has to select the relevant level of protection according to the sensitivity of the drilling site and other criteria.`

This NORSOK standard is published without marking of changes, compared to Rev 2, as the modifications are comprehensive.

Additional requirements: ConocoPhillips