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industry news “This definition enables environmental NGOs to claim that they are ‘relevant persons’. In fact, even though I’m sure the Act and Regulations were written to ensure the operator consulted with all other stakeholders who actually used or had responsibility for the area in which the activity would be carried out, the definition is so wide-ranging that any person whose ‘interests may be affected’ (even if they are not tangible interests – simply ideological interests!) can now claim they are a ‘relevant person’ and must be consulted by the operator. “This then leads to the second requirement that we are concerned about. That is, we must include in the EP ‘a copy of the full text of any response by a relevant person’ and ‘a statement of the operator’s response, or proposed response, if any, to each objection or claim’. “The outcome is obvious, the operator spends extensive efforts addressing issues that are often irrelevant and the EP becomes a major document that is not of prac tical use to those that carry out the activity but, put simply, just ticks the box for NOPSEMA. Furthermore, the requirement to include ‘a copy of the full text of any response by a relevant person’ in the EP makes it even more difficult to consult with the fishing industry and individual fishermen who simply do not wish the commercial in confidence information that they sometimes provide us to be placed in the EP,” said Hughes. “Furthermore, such information is simply not relevant to the environmental sensitivity or safety of the seismic survey. “It is now becoming very difficult to get a seismic survey acquired in the first permit year of a three year guaranteed work program. Up until recently (prior to NOPSEMA’s arrival), although it was a challenge, it was not a significant problem. Under Australian petroleum licencing procedures, seismic surveys are generally conducted in the first year and drilling in year three of a guaranteed three-year program. I would suggest this is now almost impossible in the current regulatory regime and will inevitably lead to exploration wells being delayed and drilling/development activity in decline. “Another concern is that NOPSEMA appears to have an unrealistic assessment of the risk of collision involved in seismic surveys. They appear to consider the risk of collision during a seismic survey to be higher than general commercial shipping due to the fact that the vessel moves slowly and is in the same general area for a period of time. Given the track record and statistics plus the use of such mitigation factors as scout/support vessels, notices to mariners, amongst other processes, I fail to understand how NOPSEMA can maintain this position,” said Hughes. Under current regulations, the ‘instrument holder’, who holds authority to carry out a ‘petroleum activity’ must submit an environment plan and comply with environment plans as accepted by NOPSEMA. Department of Transport Oil Spill Response co-ordinator Matt Verney said prior to the Montara oil spill from the PTTEP, Thai-operated West Atlas oil rig in 2009, the Western Australian Department of Mines and Petroleum, in conjunction with the Department of Transport, had regulated offshore petroleum activity on behalf of the Commonwealth Government. He said companies involved in oil extraction had to submit an oil contingency plan to the DMP, which was then forwarded to DOT for review and comment. NOPSEMA was created to regulate petroleumrelated activity in Commonwealth waters after a Federal Government investigation into the Montara incident had concluded that there were shortcomings in the Northern Territory’s regulation regime that had approved the West Atlas for operations. The Western Australian government still has jurisdiction over activities in State waters, which Verney said extended three nautical miles off the coast encompassing strategic islands such as Barrow Island, home to the gargantuan Gorgon project, and Browse Island. “Seismic vessels do not have to submit an oil spill contingency plan for operating in state waters,” Verney said. In response to the industry concerns over heavy-handed regulation of the seismic industry, NOPSEMA responded by stating it is “simply applying the law via its legislated assessment, inspection and compliance functions”. “The authority’s policies and processes, including assessment of environment plans, focus on ensuring duty holders, and the regulator, comply with their obligations specified in law. This reflects the objectives of the regulatory regime, which allows industry to tailor environment plans and oil spill contingency plans (and the risk management measures within them) appropriate to the nature and scale of a proposed activity,” NOPSEMA said in a written response to our questions regarding grievances brought against it by the industry. “In practice this means there are no stipulations in the offshore petroleum legislation about, for example, disposing of barnacles as trash. But with that flexibility comes a responsibility for the operator to demonstrate appropriate management of the risks and impacts that are generated by their activity. This means that proposed activities involving higher risks, such as re-fuelling at sea in a sensitive coral reef environment, requires commensurate risk management measures by industry. “Further, NOPSEMA inspections will involve monitoring how industry has complied with industry’s own commitments listed in the environment or oil spill contingency plans. Throughout all of its functions, NOPSEMA encourages and facilitates extensive consultation with industry to discuss concerns and misconceptions regarding the offshore regulatory regime and NOPSEMA’s functions and processes.” From the tone of NOPSEMA’s response it doesn’t appear the industry can expect a better understanding of its predicament. 26 | PESA News Resources | December 2012 / January 2013
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