Chapter 2
Environmental Risk Management
Applications of ERA Acute
Abstract ERA Acute supports a variety of analyses, from simple screening studies
based on oil spill statistics and potential impact areas to more in-depth impact and
recovery calculations on species and habitats. The ERA Acute software tool has been
built to enable and provide ease of use of the methodology and results. Visualizations
of impact and risk areas can be made at several levels, from simulations and scenarios
to whole cases. Results can have a monthly resolution to show variations throughout
the year. This enables a wide range of decision-support from risk screening studies,
impact assessments, risk quantification, risk management including effect of mitigating measures (NEBA/SIMA) evaluations to properly inform oil spill response
planning. The methodology is suitable for global use and will be the recommended
approach for oil spill risk assessments for offshore operators on the NCS.
Keywords Environmental risk management · Net Environmental Benefit
Analysis · Spill Impact Mitigation Analysis · Environmental risk assessment ·
Environmental risk screening
2.1 Introduction
Environmental risk management in activities representing a possibility for oil spills
is directly linked to ERA, since the ERM process utilizes the results and insights
produced by an ERA (Venesjärvi 2016).
Quantitative ERAs are used to support decision makers in complying with regulations, e.g. for activity applications, planning processes and as input to oil spill
response planning. This chapter provides an overview of risk management application areas with the newly developed ERA Acute methodology for acute oil spills
(Libre et al. 2018; Stephansen et al. 2017a, b). Various endpoints and high degree
of flexibility ensure many usage areas for ERA Acute. Environmental risk screenings may provide sufficient decision support in early stages of project development
or concept selection and can be a viable endpoint in areas with restricted access to
input data, whereas the most detailed assessment and results are found to be beneficial in several environmental risk management uses, e.g. ERA, impact assessment,
© The Author(s) 2021
C. Stephansen et al., Assessing Environmental Risk of Oil Spills with ERA Acute,
SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70176-5_2
21
Environmental Risk Management
Applications of ERA Acute
Abstract ERA Acute supports a variety of analyses, from simple screening studies
based on oil spill statistics and potential impact areas to more in-depth impact and
recovery calculations on species and habitats. The ERA Acute software tool has been
built to enable and provide ease of use of the methodology and results. Visualizations
of impact and risk areas can be made at several levels, from simulations and scenarios
to whole cases. Results can have a monthly resolution to show variations throughout
the year. This enables a wide range of decision-support from risk screening studies,
impact assessments, risk quantification, risk management including effect of mitigating measures (NEBA/SIMA) evaluations to properly inform oil spill response
planning. The methodology is suitable for global use and will be the recommended
approach for oil spill risk assessments for offshore operators on the NCS.
Keywords Environmental risk management · Net Environmental Benefit
Analysis · Spill Impact Mitigation Analysis · Environmental risk assessment ·
Environmental risk screening
2.1 Introduction
Environmental risk management in activities representing a possibility for oil spills
is directly linked to ERA, since the ERM process utilizes the results and insights
produced by an ERA (Venesjärvi 2016).
Quantitative ERAs are used to support decision makers in complying with regulations, e.g. for activity applications, planning processes and as input to oil spill
response planning. This chapter provides an overview of risk management application areas with the newly developed ERA Acute methodology for acute oil spills
(Libre et al. 2018; Stephansen et al. 2017a, b). Various endpoints and high degree
of flexibility ensure many usage areas for ERA Acute. Environmental risk screenings may provide sufficient decision support in early stages of project development
or concept selection and can be a viable endpoint in areas with restricted access to
input data, whereas the most detailed assessment and results are found to be beneficial in several environmental risk management uses, e.g. ERA, impact assessment,
© The Author(s) 2021
C. Stephansen et al., Assessing Environmental Risk of Oil Spills with ERA Acute,
SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70176-5_2
21