The project was commissioned to NORCE by Equinor in response to their need for more insight and knowledge about the effects of suspended and sedimented particles on a larger spectrum of SVO seabed fauna than presently existing for Desmophylum pertusum, with the goal to determine threshold levels used in risk assessments and risk models.
To safeguard and protect particularly valuable and vulnerable marine areas (SVOs), risk assessment and forecasts are used by Norwegian O&G operators based on existing data on the sensitivity and resilience of key species such as corals and sponges to scenarios of drilling exposure. A literature review was done to give an overview of the current knowledge about effects of exposure to inert particles (natural and from drilling mud and cuttings) on corals and sponges. Based on that review, an approach for the determination of effect thresholds for these particles as realistic as possible to actual field exposure during drilling operations is suggested.
