Environment Report - Santos

Executive Summary
Executive Summary
1. Introduction
Project and Proponent
Santos Ltd (Santos) proposes to develop
the Casino gas field approximately 30
km offshore from Port Campbell on Victoria’s
southwest coast. The Casino Gas
Field Development is a AUD$200 million
project and comprises subsea installations
and pipeline development that will
carry gas from offshore wells to an existing
TXU gas processing facility near Port
Campbell.
Joint venture partners in the Casino Gas
Field Development with Santos (50% interest),
include Peedamullah Petroleum
Pty Ltd (Australian Worldwide Exploration
Limited) (25% interest) and Mitwell
Energy Resources Pty Limited (Mitsui &
Co. (Australia) Ltd) (25% interest).
Project Justification
The demand for natural gas is increasing
steadily. Santos, as operator of the
Commonwealth exploration permit area
Vic/P44, is obliged to explore for petroleum
resources and, if feasible, develop
any discovered resources to meet consumer
demand.
Gas from the Casino gas field is earmarked
for use by Victorian consumers
during 2006 as a supplement to existing
Victorian gas reserves catering for the
predicted increase in demand. In the
medium-term and longer-term, the gas
will be available for distribution into the
Victorian and South Australian gas markets
but the gas may also be temporarily
stored in depleted underground gas reservoirs,
awaiting withdrawal during periods
of peak demand.
Other potential benefits of the project
include:
• Employment opportunities.
• Direct and indirect commercial benefits.
• Provision of an alternative independent
supply of gas to supplement existing
gas reserves and further
improve security of supply and reliability.
• Increasing inter-basin competition
between gas producers.
• Increased use of the TXU gas
processing and storage facility.
• Potential for reduction in greenhouse
gas emissions (compared to the use
of alternative fossil fuels).
Regulatory Framework
The proposed Casino Gas Field Development
falls within three jurisdictions including
Commonwealth and Victorian
waters and onshore Victoria. Consequently,
permits and licences are required
respectively under the
Commonwealth Petroleum (Submerged
Lands) Act 1967, the Victorian Petroleum
(Submerged Lands) Act 1982 and
the Victorian Pipelines Act 1967.
The Minister for Planning has determined
that the magnitude and significance of
potential impacts would not necessitate
the preparation of an environment effects
statement. Accordingly, this Environment
Report has been prepared in
support of the pipeline permit application
under the Pipelines Act 1967 and is available
for public review and comment.
In December 2003, the project was determined
to be a controlled action under
the Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC
Act) based on the lack of certainty in
construction timing and pipeline alignments
and therefore potential impacts
upon blue whales, and to a lesser degree,
listed terrestrial flora and fauna.
The subsequent Commonwealth environmental
assessment under the EPBC Act
has been undertaken through separate
documentation, i.e., Preliminary Documentation.
Stakeholder Consultation
Santos has been consulting with relevant
stakeholders on an ongoing basis since
2000 when they commenced exploration
and production activities in southwest
Victoria. With the proposed Casino Gas
Field Development, Santos embarked on
a consultation program that focused on
stakeholders potentially affected by the
project, in particular landowners and
commercial fishers, but also local interest
groups. Information from stakeholders
has been used to enhance the design
and operation of the project.
Stakeholder consultation will continue
through the approvals process and the
detailed design, construction, operation
and decommissioning phases of the
project.
2. The Project
Overview
The Casino gas field was discovered in
September 2002. It contains estimated
recoverable reserves of 211 billion cubic
feet (bcf) of natural gas and has an expected
field life of up to 12 years. The
Casino Gas Field Development comprises
the offshore production of gas and
its transportation to shore in a dedicated
pipeline to the existing TXU Western
Underground Gas Storage (WUGS) facility
at Iona near Port Campbell for
processing (Figure 1). Specifically, the
development comprises:
• Drilling two offshore development
wells.
• Installation of wellheads on the seafloor.
No structures will be visible from
shore.
• Installation of a subsea pipeline and
control umbilical (each approximately
36.7 km long) on the sea floor to
transfer gas from the wells to shore.
• Horizontal directional drilling (HDD)
of the shore crossing from farmland
outside the Port Campbell National
Park.
• Construction of a buried onshore
pipeline (11.5 km in length) from the
HDD shore crossing to the TXU
Casino Gas Field Development
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