Environmental impact assessments (EIAs) are an integral part of Petro-Canada’s Project Delivery model. The process begins with comprehensive Environmental Baseline Studies (EBS) to better understand the existing environmental and socio-economic conditions before any activity starts. EIAs also involve listening to stakeholder concerns and seeking out collaborative solutions. As well, EIAs lead us to be proactive in looking at new and innovative project engineering and design solutions to minimize both our environmental impact and how our operations will affect the surrounding communities.
The EIA process requires us to address all identified environmental impacts of the project through its life cycle from initial design to closure and reclamation. Depending on the jurisdiction, the EIA is subject to a rigorous stakeholder review before approval, providing stakeholders with the opportunity to provide input and ask questions. On completion of an EIA, Petro-Canada communicates the requirements, such as environmental management plans or waste management plans, to the contractors executing the work. Documentation of our EIA is provided to regulatory authorities and is also made available to the public so that the results are transparent and we are accountable for the commitments that we have made. We also communicate our progress periodically at open houses and other forums.
We conduct EIAs for all activities globally, regardless of whether they are required for regulatory submissions. We also review effectiveness of the EIA application in the projects and try to improve on the current process and practices of EIA use across the organization.
Petro-Canada has conducted a number of EIAs as part of our international exploration and development projects. These were the EIAs carried out and completed for the seismic data acquisition projects during 2008 and the beginning of 2009 in Morocco, Syria and Libya. There was also an EIA carried out during 2008 for the development of the onshore gas plant as part of the Ebla gas project in Syria.
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