New biodiversity portal gathers unique knowledge about the North Sea marine environment
Today, DHI and TotalEnergies, as operator of the Danish Underground Consortium, presented the North Sea Environment Portal, which provides access to more than 40 years of data on the North Sea marine environment and biodiversity. The portal will support the work of combining future offshore energy facilities with responsible management of marine ecosystems.
For the first time, comprehensive data on the seabed, biodiversity and environmental impacts of oil and gas platforms has been gathered in one portal and made available to researchers, authorities and decision-makers. The portal provides the ability to visualise and analyse data previously hidden away in reports, helping us understand e.g. to what extent platforms can serve as habitats for fish and wildlife.
The North Sea Environment Portal is an important resource when designing future solutions for energy infrastructure. It provides valuable insight into how existing platforms can and have contributed to biodiversity, and how new projects such as wind farms and CCS installations can be designed with maximum consideration for the marine environment.
DHI has collected and delivered environmental data and is responsible for the design and development of the new portal:
‘At DHI, we have been collecting environmental data from the North Sea for decades, and we are very pleased that we are now helping to make this data easily accessible in an online portal. It gives all stakeholders a solid basis for analysing the natural variations in the North Sea's biodiversity and environmental status,’ says Mikael Kamp Sørensen, Executive Vice President of DHI’s Energy business unit.
The Danish Ocean Institute (Danish: Tænketanken Hav) welcomes the new initiative:
‘The new biodiversity portal marks an important step in sharing data on North Sea ecosystems and species. It contributes to knowledge about the marine environment and biodiversity associated with offshore structures - knowledge that can be used when considering marine life in other contexts, such as the construction of offshore wind turbines and CO2 storage below the sea surface. We are therefore pleased that the portal is now a reality, and we encourage data from all sectors to be shared publicly in the future,’ says Ditte Mandøe Andreasen, Program Manager at Ocean Institute.
TotalEnergies sees the North Sea Portal as an important tool for the coming energy transition:
‘The energy transition means that a huge amount of development needs to take place in the North Sea. Therefore, we are in a time where biodiversity and responsible development are more important than ever before. When we talk about our shared responsibility for the climate and biodiversity, it is very much about understanding the footprint we've already made, to develop the best solutions for tomorrow. And this is where the North Sea Environment Portal marks a breakthrough,’ says Ole Hansen, Managing Director of TotalEnergies EP Denmark.
A joint effort for the future of the North Sea
The North Sea is one of Europe's most productive and busy seas. Not only is it a source of energy, fishing and transportation, it is also home to a high number of species and ecosystems that play a crucial role for both nature and the evolution and survival of species.
The North Sea is facing major political ambitions, including large-scale CCS projects and large offshore wind farms. The North Sea Environment Portal is an important tool to support informed decisions that support sustainable development in the North Sea.
Visit the North Sea Environment Portal here: https://www.northseaenvironmentportal.eu
Contact
For press enquiries, please contact Annette Mystek, acmy@dhigroup.com
Facts
- The first of its kind in the world. The North Sea Environment Portal is the first tool in the world to make more than 40 years of environmental and biodiversity data from the North Sea available to the public.
- The North Sea Environment Portal is jointly developed by DHI and TotalEnergies as operator of the Danish Underground Consortium with a working interest of 43.2% together with joint venture partners BlueNord (36.8%) and Nordsøfonden (20%).
- The portal contains more than 10,000 independent data points from measurements of seabed chemistry, biodiversity, flora and fauna.
- Users can visualise and analyse data with tools such as heatmaps, time series and geographical precision down to specific measuring points.
- The North Sea Environment Portal contributes knowledge for future environmental assessments and decisions for energy projects in the North Sea.
- Data can reveal if, over time, the platforms become artificial reefs that support fish and wildlife - a trend that could be amplified with additional offshore infrastructure in the North Sea.
About the Ocean Institute (Danish: Tænketanken Hav)
The Danish think tank Ocean Institute is an independent, knowledge-based think tank and was founded as an association with members who gather and develop knowledge about the ocean and its challenges and provide solutions. Ocean Institute facilitates dialogue across the ocean's interests and contributes to increased awareness and engagement both politically, in business and among the population - for the benefit of the pressured marine environment.
About TotalEnergies in Denmark
TotalEnergies is a leading energy company in Denmark, with operations in oil & gas as well as renewable electricity, employing a diverse and international workforce of around 1,200 people located in Esbjerg, offshore, and in Copenhagen. TotalEnergies operates more than 80% of oil and 90% of gas produced in Denmark, with a strong focus on emissions reductions as demonstrated by the end of routine flaring on its assets in 2023. In addition, the Company is developing carbon storage projects in the country, which could store up to 5 Mt/y of CO₂ by 2030. In Integrated Power, TotalEnergies is developing two offshore wind projects (for a capacity of 405 MW) and is working on developing additional activities in wind, solar energy and biogas. Dating back more than half a century, our operations deliver an important contribution to the Danish energy supply, economy, and employment.
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