The activities regulations § 70

§ 70 Measurement and calculation

The operator shall measure or calculate emissions and discharges to air and sea, consumption of chemicals and injected volume. In produced water that is released to the sea, the amount of water and the content of oil and other naturally occurring substances in produced water shall be measured. The measurement and calculation of NOx emissions from combustion units shall be done as set in Section 70b. Measurements of CO emissions from gas turbines shall be done as stated in Section 70c.
Measurements and calculations shall be performed so that they are representative and the uncertainty is as low as possible, and shall as a minimum include
  1. components that are regulated through limit values in the permit pursuant to the Pollution Control Act (in Norwegian only) or these regulations,
  2. other components subject to reporting pursuant to the Management Regulations Section 34 first subsection litera c.
Oil content in produced water shall be analysed according to OSPAR's reference method for determining dispersed oil in water (OSPAR Agreement 2005-15) or analysis methods calibrated against it. In other respects, sampling and analysis shall be carried out in accordance with Norwegian Standards where such exist.
The operator may carry out sampling and analysis of components himself if the operator participates in comparative laboratory testing (CLT) or regularly verifies the analyses at an external, accredited laboratory for the components that are regulated with limit values in the permit under the Pollution Control Act or these regulations. If the operator does not perform sampling and analysis himself, sampling and analysis shall be performed by laboratories accredited for the service.
The operator shall have a measurement and calculation programme that includes methods, assessment of uncertainties and quality assurance of the measurements and calculations.
The Norwegian Environment Agency can set more detailed requirements for measurements and calculations.
Section last changed: 01 January 2024

The operator must obtain a permit from the Norwegian Environmental Agency for petroleum activities under Chapter 3 of the Pollution Control Act (in Norwegian only). Application for permit under the Pollution Control Act is subject to Chapter 36 of the Pollution Control Regulations (in Norwegian only), and a fee is fixed for the Environmental Agency’s processing relating to applications for permits pursuant to Chapter 39 of the Pollution Control Regulations (in Norwegian only).
The regulations’ general requirements for the petroleum activities on the continental shelf apply to all operators. The permits under the Pollution Control Act will normally contain conditions that are specific and adapted to each activity. Chapter 36 of the Pollution Control Regulations (in Norwegian only) gives further provisions on the processing of permits under the Pollution Control Act. The Norwegian Environment Agency has described further expectations for the content of applications and expected processing time in the Guidelines for applications regarding offshore petroleum activities: https://www.miljodirektoratet.no/ansvarsomrader/forurensning/petroleum/for-naringsliv/soknadsveileder-petroleum/. Chapter 39 of the Pollution Control Regulations (in Norwegian only) gives provisions for fees for work with permits.
Measurements and calculations must be suitable for documenting that requirements for use, discharge and injection are complied with, and ensure that correct information is reported, cf. the Management Regulations Section 34 first subsection litera c.
To ensure representative measurements, the operator should regularly consider the location of sampling points, the choice of sampling methods and frequencies and regularly check and calibrate measuring equipment. Quality assurance of measurements will include quality assurance of both measuring equipment, methods and implementation of the measurements.
The measurement and calculation programme as mentioned in the third subsection, must be set up so that the scope of the measurements is sufficient for the purpose of measurements and calculations, including ensuring representative measurements. The measurement and calculation programme should include descriptions of and justifications for selected methods and frequencies of measurements and calculations. By selected methods is meant both measuring equipment, sampling points, sampling methodology and analysis method. The various steps involved in determining emissions should be described. The steps will normally include volume flow measurements, sampling, analyses and calculations. As part of the descriptions of quality assurance routines, descriptions of the frequency for measuring equipment control and calibration, and the selected frequency for participation in CLT and / or verification of analyses with an accredited laboratory, should be included. The programme should also include a description of the alternative method if the method primarily selected is unavailable. If Norwegian standards do not exist, international standards can be used.
Requirements for measuring and calculating waste are given in Section 72.