Exemplary Environmental Impact Assessments as Tools to Optimize Operations and Assure Approvability - Experiences With Projects Around Germany's Largest Oilfield in a National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site

This study demonstrates that environmental impact assessments (EIAs) can be effectively used to optimize operations and ensure approvability for oil or gas exploration and production in highly protected areas, such as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The research highlights the importance of a comprehensive and flexible approach, integrating technical and logistic alternatives to minimize environmental impact while adhering to multiple conservation objectives. Through case studies involving pipeline laying, sea power cable installation, scour protection, and exploratory drilling around Germany’s largest oil field in the Wadden Sea—a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site—the study illustrates how radical adaptations were made to meet stringent conservation requirements, including zero discharge principles, avoidance of sensitive periods, temperature control, area minimization, extensive monitoring, and compensation measures like salt marsh revitalization. These examples showcase successful project approvals, even in court cases, proving that EIAs can be dynamic tools for environmental optimization rather than static evaluations.

Reichenbach, M., & Mattfeld, H. (2013). Exemplary Environmental Impact Assessments as Tools to Optimize Operations and Assure Approvability - Experiences With Projects Around Germany’s Largest Oilfield in a National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. European HSE Conference and Exhibition. https://doi.org/10.2118/164991-ms