Rowley Shoals decision shows area tough

AAP 

February 04, 2013 3:22pm

THE decision not to re-release an oil and gas exploration permit near the Rowley Shoals Marine Park shows the offshore Kimberley region is proving difficult for the sector, an analyst says.

Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson will not re-offer the exploration permit W11-5, some 200km from the Kimberley coast and close to the Rowley Shoals, because no companies have applied for it since it was put up for grabs in April last year, his spokeswoman has confirmed.

There were also community concerns, she said.

Conservationists were up in arms in early 2012 when three permits including W11-5 were offered for exploration, although the hunt for oil and gas has been going on in the area for many years.

Shell's East Mermaid 1 well - smack in the middle of those three permits - was drilled in 1973 but abandoned due to technical problems and poor geological conditions.

The Rowley Shoals are a popular scuba diving site and are considered among the world's healthiest atolls.Woodside, no stranger to protests by conservationists with its contentious Browse gas hub plan at James Price Point north of Broome, is currently conducting seismic studies on permits north of Rowley Shoals, but says that activity is just to meet its obligations to retain the leases.

"This whole area is very difficult - you have to jump through a lot of hoops to get it going," State One Stockbroking analyst Peter Kopetz said.

While WWF Australia was pleased the W11-5 well was temporarily off limits to the oil and gas sector, it urged the federal government to create a permanent exclusion zone to the industry in the area.

On Browse, Mr Kopetz said it would be the economics of the project, not the vocal opponents, that would be the deciding factor in whether it proceeded.

Shell, with its preference for floating gas production, did not appear to be pushing the operator Woodside hard and was sitting back to see what happened, Mr Kopetz said.

While WA Premier Colin Barnett remains insistent the Browse hub must be built onshore where royalties will flow through to the state - rather than offshore, where the royalties will go to the Commonwealth - the project proponents would only choose a site that met their profitability criteria, he said.

"Why would someone lose money to appease someone?" Mr Kopetz asked.

Rowley Shoals oil and gas exploration controversy

ELEANOR HALL: The Federal Government's decision to call for expressions of interest in oil and gas projects close to a protected marine area is sparking another environmental battle in the country's north.

Rowley Shoals is a pristine reef about 260 kilometres north-west of Broome and is protected by three marine parks.

Environment reporter Conor Duffy:

CONOR DUFFY: You can't get much more remote than Rowley Shoals off the north-west coast of Western Australia.

And rare underwater footage provided to the ABC shows the isolation has meant protection.

ABC  Conor Duffy reported this story on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 07:27:00

Paul Gamblin from the World Wildlife Fund hopes it'll show the world what a special place the Rowley Shoals is.

PAUL GAMBLIN: It's kind of an Attenborough moment when you look at this footage and really appreciate how special this place is. It's a place that is unknown to many Australians. It's a place where wildlife including whales and dolphins, turtles, sharks, tuna, fish in their abundance, hundreds of species of coral are found. It really is a very special place.

CONOR DUFFY: The Federal Government has called for expressions of interest in oil and gas projects just three nautical miles from the reef.

On the department's website the pink lease area is broken up by three small circles that denote the marine parks of the reef.

Companies have to submit their bids by tomorrow. Development could include seismic activity and drilling. Paul Gamblin says that heavy work couldn't coexist with a fragile reef.

PAUL GAMBLIN: Look we believe that it's a really important moment in Australia's marine conservation history and this is a moment for Australia, for the Australian Government, to get the balance right. It's opened up huge areas to the oil and gas sector.

CONOR DUFFY: The Minister for Resources Martin Ferguson was unavailable for interview.

In a statement he says the ecological value of the reef and the fact part of the potential lease area is being considered for a marine reserve was noted in the acreage release.

EXTRACT FROM MARTIN FERGUSON'S STATEMENT: Any successful bidder will have to have an environmental plan assessed by regulators prior to undertaking any seismic or drilling activity. The legislation requires a comprehensive assessment of all significant impacts on matters of national and environmental significance.

CONOR DUFFY: But Paul Gamblin says history shows that after the initial expression of interest projects often proceed quickly.

PAUL GAMBLIN: If the Government proceeds with the release of this acreage and if the oil and gas sector believes it can reconcile its commitments to look after the environment with drilling so close to an environment like this, it could be within months that we'll see oil rigs right off the Rowley Shoals.

ELEANOR HALL: Paul Gamblin from the World Wildlife Fund with Conor Duffy.

Rowley Shoals exploration leases spark fears

AAP, The West Australian

April 11, 2012, 11:46 am

UPDATE 12.20pm: One of the world’s healthiest marine environments will be threatened by a major oil and gas drilling program just 10km off WA’s pristine Rowley Shoals, conservationists say.

Woodside Petroleum and Shell will start a combined $350 million exploration program next year.

The work will include seismic surveys and test drilling just outside state and federal marine parks protecting the three atolls that make up the Rowley Shoals, 300km off the Kimberley coast.

Woodside was awarded three exploration leases by the Federal Government in November, covering more than 10,000 square kilometres of ocean just west of the Rowley Shoals.

However, three more leases are up for tender that will totally enclose the reef system, leaving a buffer zone of just three nautical miles (about 5.5km) around each atoll.

Woodside would not say whether it was bidding for the new leases, which close on Thursday, but confirmed drilling operations for its existing offshore permits.

“Each well we drill is subject to rigorous environmental risk assessments and planning,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Well-integrity and safety is our highest priority.”

However, WWF WA director Paul Gamblin said even a modest spill or blowout so close to the reef system would be disastrous.

“It’s not so long since we had the Montara oil spill which is not too far away,” he said.

“Even something much smaller than the Montara spill right next to a coral reef would be devastating.”

Mr Gamblin said the atolls were among the healthiest in the world due to their remote location and rich biodiversity.

While the northern Mermaid Reef is protected by the Commonwealth, the southern Clerke and Imperieuse reefs are state marine parks.

“Lying on the very edge of Australia’s continental shelf, they are regarded as the most perfect examples of shelf-edge atolls in Australian waters,” WA’s Department of Environment and Conservation describes them on its website.

WA Environment Minister Bill Marmion told ABC Radio on Wednesday that Canberra’s decision to open the area up to oil and gas was “outside our control”.

“The Commonwealth have made the call on this and I would hope that because they’ve made the call they’d analyse the situation properly and make sure there’s no chance of oil spills,” he said.

Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke said his office had provided advice to the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism highlighting “key ecological features, such as the Rowley Shoals”.

“All proposals referred to the department are assessed on a case-by-case basis, and are subject to a rigorous and transparent assessment process, including an opportunity for public comment,“ Mr Burke said in a statement.

Mr Gamblin said the decision to release more oil and gas acreage was at odds with the federal government’s pledge to establish a network of marine sanctuaries around the nation.

“The Rowley Shoals, Kimberly coast, Ningaloo, Margaret River, the areas off the Great Australian Bight - all of these areas are coming under increasing pressure from the oil and gas industry at a time when the federal government is supposed to be creating marine parks,” he said.

“At a time when most of the world’s coral reefs are under enormous threat or been significantly damaged, the Rowley Shoals stand out there as one of the last hopes the world has for protecting an outstanding, diverse and pristine coral reef system.”

Oil drills close on 'pristine' reef at WA's Rowley Shoals

ANDREW BURRELL 

From:

The Australian 

April 11, 2012 12:00AM

OIL giants Woodside Petroleum and Shell are about to launch a $350 million drilling campaign within 10km of the Rowley Shoals, a premier diving spot off the Kimberley coast that the West Australian government says is "one of the most pristine marine areas in the world".

The move puts Woodside and Shell on a fresh collision course with environmental groups, which say exploring for oil and gas so close to the coral atolls is fraught with danger because of the risks of an oil spill and the threat posed to marine life during seismic surveys.

Divers and green groups say the Rowley Shoals, 300km off the coast, rival the Great Barrier Reef for their spectacular coral and marine life but few Australians are aware of them because of their remote location.

The offshore drilling campaign comes as the federal government prepares to release another three exploration permits that are even closer to the Rowley Shoals Marine Park.

The Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism last year invited the petroleum industry to bid for the new permits in federal waters. It said the Rowley sub-basin, which has waters up to 5000m deep, was "under-explored" and potentially prospective for oil and gas.

The rapid increase in exploration activity in the area comes after Shell last year overcame opposition from green groups to start drilling for oil and gas about 50km from the edge of Western Australia's World Heritage listed Ningaloo Reef.Bids for the three latest exploration blocks close tomorrow.

Woodside is also engaged in a battle with environmentalists who are opposed to its plans to build a $35 billion gas plant at James Price Point on the Kimberley coast.

There is heightened sensitivity about safety in the the oil and gas industry after the disastrous Montara oil spill off Western Australia's coast in 2009 and BP's Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

WWF's director in WA, Paul Gamblin, said he was extremely concerned that the Gillard government was releasing acreage in environmentally sensitive areas at an accelerated pace.

"The Rowley Shoals is a very clear example of what should be a no-go area for the oil and gas industry," Mr Gamblin said.

"Instead of that, we are seeing the government use the acreage release program, which has no public comment opportunity and no environmental assessment, to roll out the opportunity for industry to undertake exploration activity and production. It starts a process that is pretty much unstoppable."

Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke said last night that his department had provided advice to the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, "highlighting the matters of national environmental significance that occur within or in the vicinity of the proposed releases".

"This included identification of key ecological features such as the Rowley Shoals," Mr Burke said.

"Whilst acreages have been released by DRET, under the EPBC Act any person (or company) proposing to take an action that is likely to have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance must refer their proposal to the department to establish whether further assessment and approval is required before it can proceed.

"All proposals referred to the department are assessed on a case-by-case basis, and are subject to a rigorous and transparent assessment process, including an opportunity for public comment."

The federal government said last year that Woodside and Shell would spend about $350 million searching for oil and gas in three exploration areas known as W10-3, W10-4 and W10-5. Each permit is about 3590sq km.

The companies are operating in a joint venture, with Woodside holding 55 per cent.

It is understood the Woodside-Shell venture plans to start exploring in the permit areas this month.

A spokeswoman for Woodside declined to comment on whether the company would bid for the three additional blocks being offered near the Rowley Shoals.

But she said Woodside had a long history of successfully conducting offshore drilling in Western Australia. "All our drilling activities are undertaken in accordance with legislative requirements and meet the requirements of good industry practice," she said. "Each well we drill is subject to rigorous environmental risk assessments and planning to develop an environmental plan which is approved by the regulator before drilling commences.

"A two-barrier standard applies to all Woodside-operated drilling operations, which ensures there are at least two tested barriers in place at any time to prevent reservoir fluids flowing to the external environment."

Experienced diver and underwater cinematographer Richard Todd said the Rowley Shoals rivalled the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Reef for the diversity of coral, abundance of fish and water visibility. "It's a world-class diving destination," he said.

Mr Todd, who has worked around the world for the past 15 years, said he was opposed to any oil exploration near the shoals. "It's ludicrous -- it's bordering on insanity, really," he said.

The Rowley Shoals Marine Park, which encompasses the two southernmost atolls, is managed by the West Australian Department of Environment and Conservation. The northernmost Mermaid Reef is administered by the federal government and is part of a marine nature reserve.

None of the drilling will take place in these areas, but will come within about 10km of the 4km exclusion zone surrounding the atolls. The DEC says 233 species of coral and 688 species of fish inhabit the shoals.

"Today the shoals rank among the most remote and pristine marine areas in the world," the department says on its website.

"Lying on the very edge of Australia's continental shelf, they are regarded as the most perfect examples of shelf atolls in Australian waters."

The DEC declined to comment yesterday.

Rare finch find restores rescue hopes

NICOLA KALMAR, Broome Advertiser

Updated January 27, 2012, 7:59 am

Sarah Pryke ©

Hopes of rescuing one of Australia’s most endangered birds from the brink of extinction have been restored after the discovery of a breeding population of the rare Gouldian finch near Broome.

The discovery was made by indigenous Bardi Jawi and Bard Jawi Oorany rangers working with WWF Australia and Environs Kimberley on the Dampier Peninsula.

Environmental groups have welcomed the find and said there could be more findings of Gouldian finch in the Kimberley.

Bardi Jawi senior cultural ranger Kevin George said the find was “very exciting” for the rangers and the community, and said the first sighting of the finch was before Christmas.

There are believed to be fewer than 2500 adult birds surviving in the wild, as the population has declined steadily over the past 50 years.

Scientists have attributed fire regimes, cattle and throat parasites to decreasing numbers.

Mr George said the next step would be to implement a management plan to protect the species and continuing to work with elders and the community.

An important part in securing the future of the Gouldian finch was educating the younger generation in caring for wildlife and conservation, Mr George said.

Environs Kimberley projects co-ordinator Louise Beames described the finding as “exciting and significant”.

She said the birds had declined rapidly over much of orthern Australia due to a combination cattle and intensive fire regimes. Ms Beames said it was critical to continue to work with Bardi Jawi and Nyul Nyul rangers.