Análisis UK VA

Michelle Otero

Environmental management of oil production areas a new vision of its technical and legal aspects

by:

Arnoldo Gabaldón

Charles Lazzari

Carmen Delgado

Herein, we present a synthesis of the paper written by three specialists on Environmental Issues. This study has an extension of 24 pages, and as always, we announce to our readers that if they would like to obtain the whole paper, they just have to ask for it. Write to Venezuela Analitica and, with pleasure we will send it to you.

Once the policy of opening the oil businessto private investors was approved, the future of Venezuela points towards a greater development of this sector. It is a challenge that involves, not only making profitable business, but also to a greater social enrichment, and what is more important, to foresee the impact of oil development and harmonize its activities which can - by its nature - be very aggressive against the environment and so to achieve a sustainable development.

In fact, the various oil operations will have consequences on the environment; the ecosystems will be affected, therefore, an anticipated and effective environmental management should be a priority. The proposed Management Master Plan has three central aspects ( see figure # 1). 1st there is the identification the environmental values and the evaluation of the ecological sensibility of the areas in question. This would be the basis of the strategies and actions to plan the use of land (ordenación del territorio) and control the impact generated by the oil exploitation. From this, a Master Plan will emerge. 2nd.- An implementation Program that will concretize provisions of the Master Plan. And 3rd, Establishing a legal foundation of environmental management that "legitimizes its actions and will ease theobtention of the permits required.

The principal goals of the Master Plan are the following:
Promote a territorial occupation compatible with the other socio-economical activities in order to generate the greatest well being of the population and the integrity of its resources. Prevent and repair the damages generated by the oil program on its environment through socioeconomic and ecological strategies. Identify studies and projects that will aid the appropriate decision making in the program's various phases. Propose environmental and oil technologies that are the most appropriate to the area's ecosystems. Establish the processes of permisology required for the implementation of the program within the actual legal order.

Integral approach of the Master Plan in two stages

The environmental Master Plan considers an integral approach which consists in two main stages (see figure #2). The first stage describes the natural resources existing in the area, and the socio economical environment in which the oil program will be applied and the environmental sensibility is determined. This is refered to the ecological and socio cultural quality that will have to absorb and /or disperse the external natural impacts , or those caused by the antropic action which is measured or estimated by the level of alteration of the structural and functional fundamental relations that defined it as such.

The oil program to be implemented on the socio economical environment permit the obvervation of the impact on the regional economy, on the people and on the infrastructure. The analysis of the former, permits an integrated diagnosis of the environment impacts that the oil program will cause and will also allow us to evaluate the space offer and the actual conditions of the natural resources of the area.

The second stage of this approach starts from a first diagnosis, that is to say, the exercise of planning. Against the incompatibilities of the project and its environment, strategies are defined in order to protect the ecosystem. Different scenarios are designed indicating the technical, economical, sociopolitical, administrative, legal and environmental viability of each of the forseen options.

Strategies

Strategies oriented towards the use of the land.
Strategies and measures that have to do with environmental provisions and laws that have to be applied to oil exploration and production activities, as those strategies directed towards actions in case of contingencies derived of oil activities or eventual natural phenomena.
Strategies that propose a management for the oil program Strategies for the systematization of geographic information based on the use ofthe existing data base.
This approach simplifies the understanding between environmental planification and land use. It is all part of the same process.

Methodological sequence of the environment master plan

The logical sequence for the elaboration of the Master Plan allows us to evaluate the accumulated impacts of the oil program on the area's ecosystems and , we have that it is necessary, in general terms, to:

Determine the land's potentiality, restrictions and use.
Determine the ecological sensibility of the area Identify the range of possible impacts generated by the oil program Confrontation between the area's ecological sensibility and the impacts generated by the program.
Designing of proposals about the use of the land and use of natural resources to achieve the well being of the population Designing strategies to mitigate , control, or repair the impacts of the oil program on the environment.
In regard to the sustainable management of the oil production areas: The Master Plan indicates how to achieve its goals through the instrumentation of its strategies and begin a series of actions . To achieve this, it is necessary to have an organization in charge of the Plan which has to be, during its execution, adapted and also receive feedback.

Operative stage

The operative stage is normally underestimated, but having a plan will be of little help if it lacks the necessary provisions for its implementation. The principal rol of the environmental authority is to supervise the fulfillment of the Plan and apply the appropriate administrative sanctions and promote the application of the provided penal sanctions.
There are a series of aspects to consider:

Vigilance and control. Though it's true that the environment protection management is responsible of the guidance and vigilance about the plan's fulfillment, it is also necessary that the operative units adopt the compromise of maintaining the Master Plan's environmental processes and standards.

Environment Monitoring: Once the environmental indicative guides are defined (observations, frequency, analysis protocols), it is necessary to count on a permanent monitoring program .

Quantity and Quality of the information: Though the program begins with an partial information system, feedback will be needed so that during the project and in a progressive manner, all the required information may be acquired.

Contingency Planning: Given the nature of the oil industry, it is possible that accidents occur that damage persons and environment. It is necessary then to count on a program to treat any contingency, be it originated by the work or by natural causes (floods, earthquakes, etc.)

Incorporation of new technologies: The sustainable management also means the necessity of evaluating the development of new technology in the oil industry which will make it more efficient and less degrading to the environment.

Adjustment to international and national environmental laws: The characteristics of the oil activity requires a permanent actualization and revision of laws, national as well as the international environmental regulations.

Adaptation and actualization of operational manuals: It is necessary to distribute manuals to the operator's staff, so that they know the routines for a sustainable management

Interaction with the community: Considering that one of the Master Plan's goals is to reduce the impact of oil exploitation to the environment and the communities, a constant contact is essential in order to identify interests and apprehensions.

Legal basis of the environment's management
:

The Environmental management of the oil production areas, as described, requires a solid legal foundation which will make clear which are the responsibilities of each of the private and public agents that participate in the process, the character and magnitude of their obligations, the requirements that, from the environment's point of view, have to be fulfilled in order to undertake the different exploration, and production activities and the compatibility of such activities and the existing plans of land use

With basis on laws and existing regulations, the Ministry of the Environment has established a permisology regime. In opinion of the authors of this paper, in the case of the new oil projects some changes have to be introduced in the mentioned regime so that master plans should be adopted as basic instrument to put through the sustainable management of the oil areas and therefore making the permisology regime easier to function and more rational .

As a point of reference, the present work explains the conventional procedure valid today ( see pg. 17-20 of the original work) so that it can be compared with the modifications herein proposed, whose advantages can be appreciated because they strictly conform to the existing legal framework , but that uses provisions that although are within the law, they have not been used advantageously enough , until now.

The new approach has the following scheme
A.- An Environmental Master Plan should be made for each oil area, according to the Procedure stated by the Organic Law Land use Planning (Ley orgánica de Ordenación del Territorio) (LOOT) and in permanent discussion with the Ministry of Environment.
B.- It is convenient that the Government makes use of the provision contained in LOOT and declare each oil area as : Area under Special Administration regime (ABRAE) with high energetic potentiality.
C.- With basis on the Law ofLand use planning a plan must be designed which clarifies the policies and directivess for the administration of each area, and also as a guide for the assignation of uses and activities permitted in those areas.

Once the Plan is approved, the Ministry of Environment will proceed to give permission to affect the resources of the oil program, making use of the article 3 of Decree Nþ2.213.
he proposed approach demands that each oil area be known and analyzed in an integrated form, endowing it with a Plan. This possibility is not offered by the environment impact studies by themselves. Then, this form of approach to the environmental management binds the operating agent of the oil program to implement the Environmental Master Plan. In third place, the Plan as well as its implementation contributes with guidance and parameters in front of which the environmental management has to be evaluated by the Ministry of Environment. Finally, the authorization process is easier and saves time and money.

The work concludes with the following paragraph:
"In this new stage of the Venezuelan oil history, it would be inexcusable to act with the lack of environmental conscience which characterized the previous period before nationalization in 1976. Other oil producing countries, more developed than Venezuela, have committed similar omissions and its land shows profound scars of this destruction. But today, there is not only a well founded scientific appreciation about the negative consequences in health, and to the integrity of the ecosystems caused by an environmentally unacceptable oil exploitation, but now, considerable and important advance has been made in regards of suitable environmental technology, as well as in the employment of environmental planification and putting into practice managerial approaches more effective to the administration of the environment.

This new aspect, essential to oil management, presents us with a double responsibility. In the first place we have to be more creative when defining environment precisions, and in the second place we have to put underway a sustainable oil activity which apparently will mean more direct costs, but in reality they are productive investments we have to make thinking of future generations, which will never understand and will even condemn us if, by carelessness or omission, we leave them the legacy of a destroyed land"

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