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Affiliated Expertise
AXYS Environmental
Selected Arctic Experience
Much of AXYS’ first project work was in the Mackenzie Delta
and the Beaufort Sea region, as well as in the High Arctic. Important
and relevant project experience includes:
Assessments and Impact Statements
- Preparation and coordination of the Beaufort Sea Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for the
combined oil and gas operators in the Beaufort Sea region in 1982
(e.g., Dome Petroleum, Imperial Oil, ConocoPhillips Canada). This
comprehensive EIS addresses the potential impacts for a wide range
of oil and gas activities
ranging
from exploration, through production and transportation, including
use of ice-breaking support vessels and on-shore support bases. The
EIS is still considered to be the key assessment document for offshore
activity in the Beaufort Sea.
- Completion of a wide range of environmental impact assessments
and screenings for large and small oil and gas projects and dredging
projects
in the Beaufort Sea and Mackenzie Delta
- Site assessments of a large number (40+) of offshore drilling sites
for Dome Petroleum, Imperial Oil and ConocoPhillips Canada, including
baseline characterization of all of Dome Petroleum's offshore
drilling sites (e.g., oceanography, sediment quality, water quality,
benthos)
- Oceanographic and biological assessments for the Tuktoyaktuk and McKinley Bay harbours, including effects of use of these facilities to support offshore seismic and exploration drilling
- Completion for BHP Petroleum of an environmental impact assessment for an offshore oil field development and ship transfer facility in the Pechora Sea, Russia (an area strikingly similar to Canada's Beaufort Sea)
Atlases and Databases
- Completion of a digital oil spill sensitivity atlas and response
plan for the Beaufort Sea (similar atlases have been completed by
AXYS
for all of the Canadian Arctic except the Hudson's Bay area).
These atlases are now part of Environment Canada's response
plan for the Canadian Arctic and have been instituted by the government
of Greenland for a similar project conducted by AXYS in 2001.
- Development of a hydrological atlas and database for the Mackenzie
River
Monitoring and Management Programs
- Management of the Beaufort Sea Environmental Monitoring Program
(BEMP), the Mackenzie Environmental Monitoring Program (MEMP) and
the Beaufort
Region Environmental Assessment and Management (BREAM) program
for over 10 years (1983–1995). These programs identified and assessed
potential environmental effects of offshore and land-based oil
and
gas development, and identified important information gaps and
appropriate studies to fulfil these gaps.
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Follow up environmental monitoring for offshore and terrestrial oil
and gas developments in the Beaufort Sea and Mackenzie Delta, including
assessment of the environmental effects of the Tingmiark K-91 explosion
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Chemical analyses and biological assessments of the fate and effects
of oil- and water-based drilling muds, including preparation of
a comprehensive manual on drilling mud use. AXYS also conducted
long-term
monitoring programs on the environmental effects of a variety
of drilling muds.
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Assessment and long-term monitoring of the effects of oil spills and
oil incineration in the Arctic environment
- Oil spill modelling and response planning for offshore oil and
gas developments in the Beaufort Sea
Training and Consultation
- Training workshops on cumulative effects
assessment and management for the Mackenzie basin
- Assistance
to the Russian Ministry of the Environment (through Canada's External
Affairs) in developing environmental screening processes for
hydrocarbon development
in their
arctic regions
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