Media release – Wilderness Society, 11 August 2021
Regulator concerned about impacts to whales and fisheries and yet still approves King Island seismic blasting
Yesterday, the Australian offshore oil and gas regulator NOPSEMA approved ConocoPhillips’ controversial King Island seismic blasting project. This project has been the subject of significant opposition and concern by this remote island community so reliant on healthy oceans and fisheries.
Jess Lerch, National Corporate Campaigner for the Wilderness Society said, “the King Island community has been vocal in its concerns and opposition to this project and the proponent itself has acknowledged that the impacts on both threatened whales and important fisheries can’t be avoided. The revised version of the ConocoPhillips seismic blasting plan was provided to the regulator just five days before the approval decision.
“Yet lo and behold, the approval churns out of the approval machine right on schedule for the oil and gas company. In fact, the company had the seismic boat well on the way to King Island before the approval had landed in ConocoPhillips’ inbox. That’s the equivalent of starting the chainsaw as you wait for the permit to cut down the forest to arrive.
“Frankly, if exploration couldn’t be undertaken without affecting either threatened species or important fisheries, this acreage should never have been released. The mindless acreage release process has now placed an unnecessary, unreasonable and undemocratic burden on the King Island community and our marine environment.
“At every stage there is a presumption that the blasting will go ahead, no matter what the risks. This entire ‘regulatory’ process works for oil and gas companies, not the community or the environment. From the moment the acreage is granted to one of these companies, they get all the rights and the community and environment gets none. Unless the Morrison Government intervenes here it will be crystal clear that it cares more about ConocoPhillips than the King Island community.
“EMRS is currently undertaking a full community survey of all King Island residents to quantitatively assess the community’s level of support and comfort with this project, commissioned by the Wilderness Society. We call on the Morrison Government to intervene to stop this project progressing and to seriously consider the outcomes of the survey in any future decisions about seismic testing in the region,” Ms Lerch concluded.
Background
The formal approval was granted on 10 August, which just so happens to be the company’s identified start date for its seismic blasting ‘window’ of 10 August to 31 October 2021 for the project. Based on NOPSEMA’s website, it appears that ConocoPhillips provided a revised Environment Plan for the project (Revision 5) on 5 August – just five days prior to the regulator granting the approval.
Impacts to both threatened whale species (southern right whales and pygmy blue whales) and key fishery species (southern rock lobsters and giant crabs) from the seismic blasting were identified during consultation by key stakeholders.
NOPSEMA’s published ‘Key Matters Report’ which provides the regulator’s reasons for its decision, clearly notes that the proponent advised the regulator that for threatened whales and key fisheries target species of concern to stakeholders there was clearly no one period of time through the year where critical life stages could be avoided by the survey.
NOPSEMA itself acknowledged the potential overlap of the seismic with sensitive life stages for southern rock lobster and giant crab and the potential for interactions with endangered southern right whales during a sensitive life stage (mothers and calves migrating out of biologically important areas for calving and nursing along the Victorian coast).
Vessel tracking for the Geo Coral (seismic ship contracted by ConocoPhillips to undertake the seismic) is available here: https://www.marinetraffic.com/
