BP 2015 Annual Report Download - page 51

Oil spill preparedness and response
We are working to continuously improve how we control, contain and
clean up oil spills should they occur. Our requirements for oil spill
preparedness and response planning, and crisis management incorporate
what we have learned over many years of operation.
We updated our oil spill response plan requirements in 2012 to incorporate
learnings from the Deepwater Horizon accident. Revised response plans
include elements such as specialized modelling techniques to help predict
the impact of potential spills, provision of stockpiles of dispersant, and
the use of technologies like aerial and underwater robotic vehicles for
environmental monitoring. This is a substantial piece of work and
BP-operated businesses with the potential to spill oil are on track to
complete updates by the end of 2016.
We continue to investigate and test whether emerging technologies can
enhance our oil spill response capability. For example, in the Middle East,
we have trialled the use of satellite imagery as a way to identify oil spills
on land and track clean-up response time.
We seek to work collaboratively with government regulators in planning
for oil spill response, with the aim of improving any potential future
response. For example, in 2015 we participated in response exercises
with government regulators in regions such as Angola, the UK and US.
See page 43 for information on volume of oil spilled by our operations in
2015, including volume of oil unrecovered.
Water
BP recognizes the importance of managing fresh water use and water
discharges in our operations and we review our water risks annually. We
use industry-standard risk assessment tools, such as the IPIECA Global
Water Tool and the World Resources Institute Aqueduct Global Water
Atlas, to identify potential quantity, quality and regulatory risks across all
our operated assets. We are assessing different technology approaches
for optimizing water consumption and wastewater treatment
performance. For example, we have evaluated different approaches for
reducing fresh water use in our purified terephthalic acid operations, such
as wastewater recycling and sea water cooling.
We monitor the increasing number of regulations pertaining to freshwater
withdrawals and water discharge quality where we operate. This has led
to investments in our wastewater treatment plants at our refineries in
Europe and the US.
See bp.com/water for information about our approach to water.
Unconventional gas and hydraulic fracturing
Natural gas resources, including unconventional gas, have an increasingly
important role in supplying lower-carbon fuel to meet the world’s growing
energy needs. BP is working to responsibly develop and produce natural
gas from unconventional resources including shale gas, tight gas and
coalbed methane. We have unconventional gas operations in Oman and
the US and we are evaluating unconventional gas opportunities in other
countries.
Some stakeholders have raised concerns about the potential
environmental and community impacts of hydraulic fracturing during
unconventional gas development. BP seeks to apply responsible well
design and construction, surface operation and fluid handling practices to
mitigate these risks.
Water and sand constitute on average 99.5% of the injection material
used in hydraulic fracturing. Some of the chemicals that are added to this,
when used in certain concentrations, are classified as hazardous by the
relevant regulatory authorities. BP works with service providers to
minimize their use where possible. We list the chemicals we use in the
fracturing process in material safety data sheets at each site. We also
submit data on chemicals used at our hydraulically fractured wells in the
US, to the extent allowed by our suppliers who own the chemical
formulas at fracfocus.org or other state-designated websites.
We are working to minimize air pollutant and GHG emissions, such as
methane, at our operating sites. For example, in the US we use a process
called green completions at our gas operations. This process captures
natural gas that would otherwise be flared or vented during the
completion and commissioning of wells.
Our US Lower 48 onshore business’s approach is to operate in line with
industry standards developed within the context of the highly regulated
US environment.
See bp.com/unconventionalgas for information about our approach to
unconventional gas and hydraulic fracturing.
Special resolution – strategic resilience for
2035 and beyond
A coalition of shareholders filed a special resolution in 2015 regarding
BP’s preparation for a lower-carbon future. The resolution, which was
supported by the BP board, requested that our reporting include
information in five areas:
Ongoing operational
emissions management
Asset portfolio resilience
to post-2035 scenarios
Low-carbon energy R&D
and investment strategies
Strategic KPIs and
executive incentives
Public policy activities
BP Sustainability Report 2015, pages 17
and 42
How we are working to improve the
energy efficiency of our operations and
product use.
BP Sustainability Report 2015, page 18
BP Energy Outlook
BP Technology Outlook, page 8
How we adapt our investment strategy
to changes in policy, market or
technology conditions.
BP Sustainability Report 2015, page 16
Information on our gas, biofuels and
wind businesses, as well as our
research activities.
BP Annual Report 2015, pages 20 and 22
Information on how our executives are
currently rewarded.
BP Sustainability Report 2015, page 15
Our activities supporting our advocacy
for carbon pricing, along with working
with governments and peers on
methane and flaring reduction.
Resolution element Where reported
Teams from BP Angola taking part in a shoreline oil spill response exercise
– the first international oil company event of its type in the country.
Find more online
bp.com/sustainabilityreport
bp.com/technologyoutlook
bp.com/energyoutlook
Defined on page 256.BP Annual Report and Form 20-F 2015 47
Strategic report