The IPPC directive and technique qualification at offshore oil and gas installations

The Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC 2008/1/EC) directive emphasises the use of a permit system to protect the environment as a whole from unwanted emissions in the specified industrial activities. The directive advocates the implementation of Best Available Techniques (BAT). Today, it is essential to select appropriate techniques, especially when an operating company is functioning in an environmentally sensitive area. On these grounds, companies encounter challenges to fulfill the IPPC guidelines as well as to qualify techniques for a specific purpose. The situation is challenging when applying new techniques or in the case of where a technique is considered new. However, technique qualification provides the evidence that BATs function within specific limits for an intended use whilst delivering an acceptable level of confidence. This paper explains how the concept of the Best Qualified Techniques (BQTs) is implemented using BAT approach. It also discusses a framework for broadening the BAT concept to include BQTs, drawing upon case studies of the offshore oil and gas industry.