We will further strengthen the management of environmental impact assessment in the oil and gas industry

First, promote planning environmental impact assessment

(1) When preparing comprehensive plans or guiding special plans such as oil and gas development plans, all relevant units shall simultaneously prepare environmental impact chapters or descriptions according to law; To compile special plans related to oil and gas development, environmental impact reports shall be prepared simultaneously according to law, and submitted to the competent department of ecological environment for review according to law. Planning EIA conclusions and review opinions should be used as an important basis for planning approval decisions and relevant project EIA. Planning EIA data and results can be shared with project EIA, and project EIA can be simplified in light of actual conditions.

(b) Oil and gas enterprises in the preparation of internal oil and gas development special plans, encourage the simultaneous preparation of planning environmental impact reports, focusing on the cumulative and long-term environmental impact analysis of the implementation of the plan, put forward countermeasures to prevent and mitigate adverse environmental impacts, organize experts to demonstrate the relevant results to the provincial ecological environment authorities. Where offshore oil and gas exploitation is involved, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and its corresponding river basin and sea area ecological Environment Supervision Administration shall be notified.

(3) The planning EIA should take into account the requirements of the resource and environment characteristics of the oil and gas development area, the planning of the main functional area, the control of natural protected areas, ecological protection red lines, etc., effectively maintain the integrity and stability of the ecosystem, clearly prohibit the development area and the resource and environment constraints of the implementation of the plan, and put forward suggestions for optimizing the layout, scale, development mode and construction timing of oil and gas resources development. Reasonable determination of the development plan, clear prevention and mitigation of adverse environmental impact countermeasures. Strictly implement the "three lines, one single" (ecological protection red line, environmental quality bottom line, resource utilization line, ecological environment access list) control requirements, shale gas and other mining should clearly plan the implementation of the upper limit of water use. Where natural protected areas and ecological protection red lines are involved, they shall also meet their control requirements. In areas where the total emission of key pollutants exceeds the total emission control targets set by the state or local governments, planning for new oil and gas development projects that discharge these key pollutants shall be suspended. The layout of development projects in geological structure areas with major groundwater pollution risks should be cautious, and if it is really necessary to develop, the environmental feasibility of planning and implementation should be thoroughly demonstrated and strict environmental risk prevention measures should be taken.

Second, deepen the reform of project environmental assessment "discharge management service"

(4) Oil and gas exploitation projects (including new development and rolling development projects) should, in principle, carry out environmental assessment (EIA) on a block basis (hereinafter referred to as block EIA), generally including the proposed new Wells, infillation Wells, adjustment Wells, stations and yards, equipment, pipelines and cables and their replacement works, disposal works and supporting works in the block. The project environmental assessment shall thoroughly evaluate the environmental impact and environmental risks brought about by the construction and operation of the project, and propose effective measures to protect the ecological environment and prevent environmental risks. The EIA document of the capacity construction project in the rolling development block should also retrospectively evaluate the environmental impact of the existing project, and put forward effective prevention and control measures for the existing ecological environment problems and environmental risks. If it relies on other prevention and control facilities or entrusts a third party to dispose of it, its feasibility and effectiveness shall be demonstrated.

(5) The construction of exploration Wells in new onshore oil and gas exploration blocks that have not determined the scale of production capacity construction shall compile environmental impact report forms in accordance with the law. An offshore oil and gas exploration project shall fill in an environmental impact registration form and be filed. After determining the scale of production capacity construction, in principle, it is not allowed to continue to carry out single-well EIA in the name of exploration. Exploration Wells converted into production Wells may be included in the block EIA. Starting from January 1, 2021, EIA will not be carried out in the form of a single well in principle. During the transition period, the project construction unit may, according to the actual situation, submit a block EIA or a single well EIA for approval. Marine oil and gas development adjustment well projects that have obtained environmental assessment approval before the issuance of this notice, are not in the Marine ecological environment sensitive area, are not included in the environmental assessment of oil and gas production capacity construction projects, and the amount of pollution does not exceed the total amount of emissions approved by the original environmental assessment, shall implement the environmental impact registration form for record management.

(6) Ecological environment authorities at all levels shall not set or retain pre-conditions such as soil and water conservation, pre-examination of land for planning site selection (sea use), pre-examination of industrial or lower-level ecological environment authorities when examining and approving block EIA. Where legal protection areas such as natural protected areas, drinking water source reserves, and ecological protection red lines are involved, the opinions of the competent authorities shall not be used as preconditions for EIA approval, provided that they comply with laws and regulations. For a single project that has been included in the block EIA and has not produced significant changes, the ecological environment authorities at all levels shall not require repeated EIA of construction projects.

Third, strengthen ecological and environmental protection measures

(7) Onshore oil and gas exploitation projects involving the discharge of pollutants into surface water bodies shall comply with the national and local pollutant discharge standards and meet the requirements for total emission control of key pollutants. Offshore oil and gas development projects involving pollutant emission shall meet the requirements of emission standards such as the Pollutant Emission Concentration Limit for Offshore Oil Exploration and Development (GB4914).

(8) Involving the re-injection of waste water, shall demonstrate the environmental feasibility of re-injection, take practical measures to prevent and monitor groundwater pollution, shall not re-injection of waste water unrelated to oil and gas exploitation, and shall not cause groundwater pollution. Before the release of relevant industry pollution control standards, the reinjection of mining wastewater should be treated and meet the requirements of relevant standards such as "Recommended Index and Analysis Method of Injection Water Quality of clastic Rock Reservoir" (SY/T5329), and practical measures should be taken to prevent and control pollution. The return layer should be a geological structure closed layer, and generally should be reinjected into the active oil and gas reservoir or depleted oil and gas reservoir. Relevant departments and oil and gas enterprises should strengthen the study of produced water and other sewage reinjection, focusing on the rationality of reinjection well location, process control effectiveness, risk prevention and control system, etc., and propose the whole process of ecological environmental protection and risk prevention and control measures and monitoring requirements from the source to the end. The environmental assessment documents of construction projects shall contain relevant information about toxic and harmful substances such as heavy metals in drilling fluid and fracturing fluid, except for cases involving trade secrets and technical secrets.

(9) Waste oil-based mud, oil-bearing drilling cuttings and other solid wastes generated from oil and gas exploitation shall be disposed of in accordance with the principles of reduction, resource recovery and harmfulness, and in accordance with the relevant state and local regulations on the management of solid wastes. Enterprises are encouraged to build their own centralized treatment and comprehensive utilization facilities for oily sludge to improve the comprehensive utilization rate of waste oil-based mud and oily drilling cuttings and their treatment products. Hazardous wastes generated by oil and gas exploitation projects shall be evaluated in accordance with the requirements of the Guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessment of Hazardous Wastes for Construction Projects. Relevant departments and oil and gas enterprises should strengthen research on solid waste disposal, focusing on the types of solid waste generation, main pollution factors and potential environmental impacts, respectively proposing reduction source control measures, resource utilization paths, and harmless treatment requirements to promote the rational use and proper disposal of solid waste.

(10) The construction unit of a land oil and gas exploitation project shall effectively control the storage and loading losses of volatile organic compounds, the liquid level of waste water, the leakage of equipment and pipeline components, abnormal working conditions and other non-organized sources of volatile organic compounds, and adopt measures such as equipment sealing, effective collection of waste gas and supporting efficient end treatment facilities. Effectively control the non-organized emission of volatile organic compounds and odorous gases. Involving the exploitation of high-sulfur natural gas, environmental risk prevention measures should be strengthened in drilling, transportation, purification and other links. Effective measures should be taken to reduce the unorganized discharge of hydrogen sulfide from wastewater treatment stations and reinjection well sites. High-sulfur natural gas purification plants should adopt advanced and efficient sulfur recovery processes to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions. Well site heating furnaces, boilers, compressors and other equipment that discharge air pollutants shall give priority to the use of clean fuels, and the exhaust gas discharge shall meet the requirements of the national and local standards for the discharge of air pollutants.

(11) During the construction period, the construction area should be reduced as much as possible, the construction time should be shortened, reasonable construction methods should be selected, the control requirements of environmentally sensitive areas should be implemented, and other ecological environmental protection measures should be implemented to reduce the impact on the ecological environment. Drilling and fracturing equipment should give priority to the use of grid electricity, high standard clean fuel, reduce exhaust emissions. Use low noise equipment to avoid disturbing people with noise. After the completion of the construction, the ecological protection measures proposed by the EIA should be implemented in a timely manner.

(12) In principle, environmental assessment documents shall be prepared separately for land oil and gas long distance pipeline projects. Long distance oil and gas pipelines and internal gathering and transportation pipelines of oil and gas fields should give priority to avoiding environmentally sensitive areas, and conduct in-depth demonstration from the crossing location, crossing mode, construction site setting, pipeline process design, environmental risk prevention and other aspects. Pay high attention to environmental risks caused by project safety accidents, and try to stay away from residents along the line.

(13) Location of oil and gas storage projects should be as far away from environmentally sensitive areas as possible. Strengthen the leakage detection of methane and volatile organic compounds, implement the requirements of groundwater pollution prevention and tracking monitoring, and take effective measures to prevent environmental risks and environmental emergency management; The salt cavern gas storage project should also strictly implement the ecological environmental protection measures during the brine extraction and cavity construction period and the pipeline construction period, and properly treat the produced water.

(14) Oil and gas enterprises shall strengthen risk prevention and control, prepare emergency plans for environmental emergencies in accordance with regulations, and report to the local ecological environment authorities for the record. The emergency plan for oil spill in offshore oil and gas exploration and development shall be submitted to the relevant Marine ecological Environment Supervision Administration for the record.

Fourth, we will strengthen in-process and post-event oversight

(15) Oil and gas enterprises shall earnestly implement the main responsibility of ecological environmental protection, further improve the ecological environmental protection management system and system, give full play to the role of the enterprise's internal ecological environmental protection department, improve the health, safety and environment (HSE) management system, and strengthen supervision and inspection. Promote the implementation of ecological environmental protection measures in planning, construction, operation and decommissioning of oil and gas fields. After the formal commencement of the project, the oil and gas exploitation enterprise shall annually report in writing to the competent ecological environment department with jurisdiction the implementation or change of the project, the ecological environmental protection work, involving the natural protection area and the ecological protection red line, shall explain the legal compliance of the project implementation and the actual impact on the natural ecosystem and the main protected objects. It shall be subject to supervision by the competent ecological and environmental authorities in accordance with law.

(16) The ecological environment authorities at all levels shall strengthen the supervision and inspection of the construction period and operation period of oil and gas exploitation projects, promote the "double random and one open" supervision on the basis of the active report of the construction unit, and strictly correct and investigate illegal acts in accordance with the law. In the review of the environmental impact statement (table), strengthen the technical verification of pollution prevention and control measures such as wastewater treatment and reuse (including reinjection), groundwater pollution prevention and control, hazardous waste generation and disposal, and investigate problems according to law and regulations, and urge the relevant responsible parties to rectify.

(17) After the EIA approval of the onshore oil and gas exploitation block project, the total capacity scale and the total number of new Wells increased by 30% or more, the number of re-injection Wells increased, the number of environmentally sensitive areas was added within the area covered, and the change of well location or station location led to the increase in the number of environmentally sensitive targets within the evaluation range. Changes in development methods, production processes, and well types lead to an increase in the types of new pollutants or the amount of pollutants emitted, an increase in the types or quantity of hazardous wastes actually produced compared with the approved environmental impact assessment documents, a change in the disposal method of hazardous wastes from outsourcing to self-disposal, or a change in the disposal method leads to an increase in adverse environmental impacts; Where major ecological environmental protection measures or environmental risk prevention measures are weakened or reduced, the EIA document shall be submitted for approval again according to law. A list of major changes in offshore oil and gas development projects will be formulated separately.

(18) Construction units or production and business units shall carry out environmental protection acceptance inspection of construction projects completed in accordance with regulations, and enter into the national environmental protection acceptance information platform for construction projects completed. For a construction project that is constructed or put into production or use by stages, the corresponding environmental protection facilities shall be checked and accepted by stages.

(19) After the implementation of the production capacity construction project in the land block, the construction unit or the production and operation unit shall carry out long-term follow-up monitoring of groundwater, ecology and soil, and rectify the problems found in a timely manner. After the project is officially put into production or operation, a post-environmental impact assessment shall be carried out every 3-5 years and reported to the competent ecological environment department for the record according to law. Existing rolling development blocks that are required to carry out EIA may not carry out a separate post-environmental impact assessment, unless otherwise provided for by laws and regulations. Specific requirements for post-environmental impact assessment of offshore oil and gas development projects shall be specified separately.

(20) The construction unit or production and operation unit shall, in accordance with the relevant requirements, take effective measures to protect the ecological environment. At the same time, in accordance with the requirements of the "Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China" and "Soil Pollution Risk Control Standard for Soil Environmental Quality Construction Land (Trial)" (GB 36600), measures such as plugging, soil and groundwater restoration and ecological restoration shall be implemented for all kinds of Wells, pipelines and other engineering facilities that are permanently discontinued, dismantled or abandoned. After the termination of offshore oil and gas exploration and development activities, if the relevant facilities need to be abandoned at sea, the parts that may cause pollution damage to the Marine environment or affect the development and utilization of Marine resources shall be dismantled, and the provisions on the management of Marine dumping waste shall be referred to. At the time of demolition, an environmental protection plan for demolition shall be drawn up and necessary measures shall be taken to prevent pollution and damage to the Marine environment.

(21) Oil and gas enterprises shall take the initiative to disclose environmental information of oil and gas exploitation projects in accordance with relevant requirements such as the environmental information disclosure measures of enterprises and public institutions and the public participation measures for environmental impact assessment, so as to ensure the public's right to know, participate, express and supervise. The competent departments of ecological environment at all levels shall, as required, do a good job in the information disclosure of EIA approval, supervision and law enforcement and other related work.