Equinor, company planning to drill for oil in Great Australian Bight, releases upgraded environmental plan

The oil firm with controversial plans to drill in the Great Australian Bight is today releasing its environment plan early to reveal significantly upgraded safety measures, in a bid to reassure the public that its $200 million plan is safe.

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The oil firm with controversial plans to drill in the Great Australian Bight is today releasing its environment plan early to reveal significantly upgraded safety measures, in a bid to reassure the public that its $200 million plan is safe.

Norwegian company Equinor says all its science and research shows “that we can drill in the Great Australian Bight in a safe and secure way”.

Groups such as Greenpeace have vehemently opposed any proposal to drill in The Bight because “safe drilling is a fairy tale’’. If a major oil resource was discovered, it could produce oil for 20 years or more.

Equinor’s exploration manager Camilla Vatne Aamodt said it was “really confident that this setting is similar to what we experience in our daily work when drilling around the world”.

Equinor aims to drill the Stromlo target in late 2020, targeting a billion barrels of oil.

It plans to keep a specialised construction vessel next to the rig for the duration of the 40-60 day drilling program, to provide immediate aid should the worst-case scenario eventuate.

The drilling rig and construction vessel, with a fishing boat for scale.

Plans to ship a “capping stack” from Singapore have also been upgraded and it would now be flown in, rather than coming by sea, should a major oil leak occur, meaning any response would be almost as fast as if the technology was based in Adelaide.

Equinor country manager Jone Stangeland said the company drilled 30-40 exploration wells per year, as well as operating hundreds of production wells, and was very confident that drilling could be done safely.

In a bid to be transparent, the company has now released its environmental plan for public consultation for 30 days, despite not being required to do so, before submitting the plan for assessment by the federal regulator, NOPSEMA, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority.

Ms Vatne Aamodt said modelling of the weather patterns in The Bight showed comparable conditions compared with where the company operated in regions such as Norway, Brazil and Canada.

“We’ve collected meteorological information out in Ceduna. We had buoys out in the water for more than a year,’’ Ms Vatne Aamodt said

“For us, it was important to investigate that data set and compare it to others areas in the world where we operate.

Where the drilling in the Great Australian Bight could take place.

“What we saw was … when it comes to wind, the waves, the currents, we actually see that the closest analog to Ceduna is the Norwegian Sea.

“There we have drilled plenty of exploration wells and we have field developments as well. All of this made us really confident that this setting is similar to what we experience in our daily work when drilling around the world.’’

Ms Vatne Aamodt said the company’s modelling, based on Geoscience Australia data and seismic testing data, supported the idea that there was a “working petroleum system’’ in the area.

“We’re quite eager to have identified a good prospect.’’

Ms Vatne Aamodt said the environment plan also contained habitat modelling of animals such as blue whales and dolphins.

“We have a much more certain grip on the setting out there and what it would mean for us. “We’re quite pleased that after a lot of hard work that all our science and research shows that we can drill in the Great Australian Bight in a safe and secure way. That’s the conclusion of the EP.’’

Ms Vatne Aamodt said while an oil spill was “very unlikely” there were a number of responses planned, with the blowout preventer (BOP) on top of the well the first line of defence, with six independent shut-off mechanisms.

A “capping stack” which was a secondary response for spills which could not be shut in by the BOP, would be flown in from Singapore, taking only a day more than if it was based in Adelaide, should the worst case occur.

Equinor plans to use a rig with dynamic thrusters to maintain its position without anchoring. The rig will be supported by a construction vessel throughout the drilling program, which has a crane that can lift heavy equipment on to the sea floor in high waves.

That response would take 15 days and be installed on top of the BOP. This time frame has been reduced from a previous standard of 30-40 days response time.

While they have been available for use, there has not been a need to use a capping stack since the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010, Mr Stangeland said.

“We have never had any oil spills related to our exploration activities,’’ Mr Stangeland said.

For perspective, there were more than 700 active offshore wells operating safely in Australian waters, he said.

Drilling in The Bight would be conducted in summer when the weather was milder, Ms Vatne Aamodt said.

Mr Stangeland said Equinor had consulted with more than 130 organisations over the past two years regarding its plans.

“I think it’s fair to say that people are really interested in the activity, some people have concerns about drilling in The Bight. I think some of the concerns have been about openness and transparency into the industry and the activity, and questions related to being open about the environment plan before we submit this to NOPSEMA.

“So that’s actually what we are doing now. We’re making the environment plan public so everybody has the chance to provide input and comments to the plan.’’

This is not a requirement under Australian law, however is soon expected to be.

“I think there’s also a lot of interest, what does this mean for South Australia?’’ Mr Stangeland said.

Mr Stangeland made the point that The Bight had been drilled on and off since the late 1960s and Stromlo-1, should it be drilled, would be the 14th well in the region.

“We have the competence that’s necessary to drill in the Great Australian Bight,’’ he said.

“We have a solid track record from the Norwegian continental shelf … where we have operated for between 45 and 50 years. Drilling in the same conditions and same depth of waters. I think this gives us good confidence for preparing for the drilling. In total, we will have spent approximately A$200 million preparing for and drilling this well.”

Ms Stangeland said the company would be meeting with councils and other interested parties in coming weeks.

Equinor, formerly known as Statoil, took over The Bight project in mid-2017 after BP pulled out. BP had taken its plan, which Equinor was a partner in, to NOPSEMA twice but had been unable to satisfy the regulator. In late 2016 it pulled out of the project, saying it did not stack up against other projects in BP’s global portfolio.

Any responses to the Equinor environment plan will be collected by NOPSEMA, and will be used to update the plan before submission.

Stromlo-1 drill site

■ Sea floor depth: 2239m.

■ The drilling area is 372km from the mainland, 476km west of Port Lincoln and 550km from Kangaroo Island.

■ Drilling will take 40 to 60 days.

■ 13 wells have so far been drilled in The Bight, dating back to the late 1960s.

■ Equinor drills 30 to 40 explorations wells globally each year.

■ It also has “several hundred” production wells.

Precautions put safety first

Blowout Preventer: Equinor will install a 400-ton safety valve (Blowout Preventer) before it starts drilling, which can shut the well in minutes. A BOP is four times larger than a capping stack and has six independent shut-in mechanisms and is proven to be highly effective in ensuring well safety.

Capping stack: In the extremely unlikely situation where the blowout preventer fails, a capping stack will be available as a backup. The EP demonstrates how a capping stack can shut the well in 15 days. By having a construction vessel on site Equinor has significantly reduced this response time, which can be 30-40 days for other wells currently operating in Australia.

Construction vessel: One of the support vessels that will be near the rig during drilling will be a construction vessel. It is a larger, multipurpose ship that can lift and manoeuvre heavy equipment steadily onto the sea floor with a crane that can compensate for high waves. It is not usual to have a construction vessel on site for this kind of operation, but Equinor has committed to this additional safety measure. It says that in the extremely unlikely event that it needs to use a capping stack, it is the construction vessel that would transport it onto location and lift it into position. Having the construction vessel on site significantly reduces the time it would take Equinor to install a capping stack.

Timeline of the Bight drilling proposal

JANUARY 2011

BP and Statoil (now Equinor) win four offshore blocks covering 12,500sq km and announce they intend to start drilling the first of four wells in 2013. The program consists of a $605 million seismic survey followed by a $832 million drilling program over four years if initial results are positive.

MAY 2012

Another three offshore blocks in The Bight are released for bidding.

OCTOBER 2013

Santos, Chevron and Murphy Australia Oil are also awarded permits to explore for oil and gas in The Bight.

MAY 2014

BP awards $138 million contract to an international helicopter company to support the project.

OCTOBER 2, 2015

BP submits its first environment plan.

NOVEMBER 16, 2015

National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) says it’s “not reasonably satisfied” with the environment plan and gives BP a chance to resubmit it.

JANUARY 19, 2016

Assessment time frame extended.

MARCH 15, 2016

Environment plan resubmitted. A marine supply base in Port Adelaide is opened by BP and construction works start in Ceduna.

MAY 16, 2016

NOPSEMA again “not reasonably satisfied” and asks BP to resubmit again.

JULY 12, 2016

Assessment time frame extended.

AUGUST 18, 2016

Time frame extended again until October 28.

SEPTEMBER 2016

BP releases modelling that shows an uncontrolled oil spill with no clean-up attempt would severely affect South Australia’s coastlines.

OCTOBER 7, 2016

Victorian company Karoon Gas is awarded an exploration block in The Bight.

OCTOBER 11, 2016

BP pulls out of the project.

JUNE 8, 2017

Equinor announces a swap agreement with BP and says it will progress plans to drill in two blocks in The Bight.

FEBRUARY 19, 2019

Equinor releases its environment plan for public comment.

WHAT’S NEXT?

NOPSEMA will consider the environment plan and must approve it before drilling can commence.

■ Last quarter of 2020 – drilling scheduled to begin.

Let facts, experts decide — not emotional lynch mobs

Some of you may have seen the 90 second advert that screened on TV that featured me commenting on the proposal to explore for oil in the Great Australian Bight.

I was asked last year if I was willing to go public to express my previously aired opinions on exploring for oil in the Great Australian Bight.

Given some of the personal undermining and attacks I had endured because of my views from certain people that I have known for a very long time, plus wanting to see our own community grow and prosper from realistic economic opportunities, I agreed.

My opinion is actually relatively straightforward; If NOPSEMA, the independent regulatory authority set up in 2010 by the Labor government of the day, comprehensively considers the proposal including the Environment Plan, sets an extensive range of controls and conditions and then backs that up with thorough and diligent compliance, then I am happy to accept and support oil being explored for in the Great Australian Bight.

What I am not willing to support is an intimidating and emotionally driven “lynch mob” approach that tries to put unfair and reasonable pressure on organisations like Eyre Peninsula councils to announce opposition and then point to that as a demonstration of a lack of public and community support to governments and NOPSEMA.

I have argued over the years in defence of aquaculture and fishing in my previous roles as Chair of the National Aquaculture Council, the South Australian Aquaculture Council, the South Australian Oyster Growers Association and my current role as Chair of Oysters Australia against unfair and unreasonable claims.

Smoky Bay oyster grower Bruce Zippel. Picture: Andrew Brooks

The best example of this was what I still refer to as “the Kingfish Debacle” from the early 2000s. As Chair of the SA Aquaculture Council, I had to stand up for the aquaculture industry against a range of allegations against the kingfish farming industry and the alleged bizarre consequence of escaped kingfish on the environment.

Yes, farming practices at the time had to improve and they did, but to stand up in front of an emotionally charged audience and say that overfishing is what is decreasing fish numbers in the Gulfs, not escaped kingfish ravishing the local fish population, painted me as a local villain.

Many of the arguments I am now using, particularly in regards to the importance of growing local employment and keeping young people in communities, have been used extensively in the past by aquaculture and fishing industry leaders in defence of their own industries.

When it comes to determining and balancing the triple bottom line approach (environmental, social and economic) in relation to offshore oil and gas exploration, the only organisation in a position to objectively do this given the complexity involved, is NOPSEMA.

Bruce Zippel co-owns Zippels Smoky Bay Oysters