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DOLPHINENERGY
SUSTAINABILITYREPORT2015
Biodiversity
DolphinEnergy is committed to limiting its
activities’ impact onbiodiversity surrounding
its facilities.We continuously take steps to
understand,manageand limit thepotential
impactsof our operationsonbiodiversity.
Theseeffortshave focused largelyon coral
habitat conservation (between2004and2007),
dugongs inQatar (between2007and2008),
turtleprotectionprograms (in2005, 2007and
2008) andartificial eco reefs (between2008,
2009, 2010and2014);more informationonour
past initiatives in theseareas canbe found in
our previous sustainability reportsbyvisiting the
relevant sectiononourwebsiteandat this link:
-
responsibility/the-environment/
In 2015, we conducted amarine ecological
survey aroundour offshoreDOL-1 andDOL-2
platforms. Thebaseline ecological surveys of
marinehabitats and species are vitally important
in terms ofmarine conservation andprotection.
Theobjectives of the surveywas to characterize
current environmental conditions of theoffshore
field in 2015, eight years after operations
started, and todefine any changes over timeby
comparing current conditions to thebaseline
tophysio-chemical andbiological conditions
surveyed in 2002 (beforewewereoperational).
Results established that conditions at theoffshore
platformswerehighly reflectiveof theambient
environment for similarwater depths elsewhere
in theGulf. The survey indicated that thewater
surroundingbothour offshoreplatforms is
unpollutedandhasnot been significantly
impactedby the company’soperational activities.
The sediments supported chemical, organicand
metal concentrations that are consistentwith
natural backgroundandexpected conditions
in theGulf at present, andhavenot shownany
uncharacteristic changes since the2002marine
ecological survey.
As formarinebiodiversity, the sedimentswere
observed to support averyhealthybenthic
diversityandabundance. Epifaunal coverage
aroundDolphinEnergy includedpredominantly
soft corals (seawhips andgorgonians) andalgae.
Averyhighdiversity (96 taxa) andabundance
(3,787 individuals) of benthic infaunawas
identifiedduring the surveyandfishabundance
anddiversitywerealso relativelyhigh. Itwas
concluded that themarine communitypresent
around theplatformshasnot beendetrimentally
affectedbyour ongoingoffshoreoperations and
previousdrillingactivities.
