MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT OF THREE OFFSHORE OILFIELDS IN TROPICAL WATERS OF NORTH-WEST AUSTRALIA

1991 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 423
Author(s):  
Ian LeProvost
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Hydrocarbon Exploration ◽  
Social Characteristics ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Monitoring Programs ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Exploration And Production

Environmentally safe management of hydrocarbon exploration and production activities is becoming increasingly important, particularly in sensitive marine areas. LeProvost Environmental Consultants have been working closely with Hadson Energy Limited, Western Mining Corporation Ltd and West Australian Petroleum Pty Ltd to produce environmental impact assessments, environmental management plans and monitoring programs for oilfields recently developed on the North West Shelf. Many of the well sites are located in areas with sensitive ecological habitats, including coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves and prawn spawning and fishing grounds. Consequently, operators in these areas have been required to produce comprehensive Environmental Management Plans and Oil Spill Contingency Plans, to gain development and operating approvals from the Western Australian Government.Formulation of these plans begins with baseline surveys of the biological, physical and social characteristics of the study area. Hydrodynamic modelling of the metocean conditions produces oil spill prediction envelopes to highlight the areas that may potentially be affected by an oil spill, if one should occur. Site-specific oil spill response procedures are then designed to cater for the sensitive marine habitats of the area, using the resources that are available in the region to deal with an oil spill.Results to date from the Marine Biological Monitoring Programs for three oilfields have supported predictions that no significant adverse impacts on the environment would result from the development and operation of the oilfields.

Assessing shale mineral composition: From lab to seismic scale

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 385-391
Author(s):  
Roman Beloborodov ◽  
Marina Pervukhina ◽  
Matthew Josh ◽  
Michael B. Clennell ◽  
Juerg Hauser
Keyword(s):  
Mineralogical Composition ◽  
Hydrocarbon Exploration ◽  
Seismic Survey ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Exploration And Production ◽  
Northern Carnarvon Basin ◽  
Inclined Boreholes ◽  
Hydrocarbon Exploration And Production ◽  
Carnarvon Basin

Shales have always been a difficult target for drilling of deviated and horizontal wells. In the presence of azimuthal stress fields, inclined boreholes in smectite-rich shales exhibit geomechanical instabilities and can result in borehole failure. The complex geology of the major gas fields in the Northern Carnarvon Basin on the North West Shelf of Australia makes it necessary to drill deviated wells through the smectite-rich shale seal extending more than 1 km in thickness. Predicting the mineralogical composition of shales in the area is therefore crucial for the success of drilling operations related to hydrocarbon exploration and production. Here we introduce a novel workflow that combines seismic data, well logs, and laboratory measurements to rapidly infer smectite content in shale. The workflow is applied to the Duyfken 3D seismic survey in the central part of the Northern Carnarvon Basin. The results of our quantitative interpretation are verified against the laboratory X-ray diffraction measurements from the test well that was not used for interpretation, and they match the test data well within the determined uncertainty bounds.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW 2000

2001 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
S.J. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Petroleum Industry ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
North West ◽  
Natural Gas Pipelines ◽  
The North ◽  
Timor Sea ◽  
Epbc Act

Last year the petroleum industry witnessed the enactment of new legislation both at Commonwealth and State levels. The principal legislative change to environmental management was the introduction of the Commonwealth Government’s Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act, 2000 (EPBC Act). South Australia and Victoria also implemented new Petroleum Acts and/ or Regulations.Construction of the Eastern Gas Pipeline was also completed last year, whilst preliminary approvals and environmental assessment continues for the Papua New Guinea, Timor Sea and Tasmania Natural Gas pipelines. Offshore exploration continued, particularly in the North West Shelf, Otway Basin, Timor Sea and Bass Strait.Other critical areas of environmental management included greenhouse gases, national pollution inventory reporting and the increasing requirements for environmental approval and management under various state environmental legislation.This paper provides an overview of environmental developments in the petroleum industry during the year 2000, in particular, the implication of new legislation, new technology, e-commerce and a greater focus on environmental reporting.

Allozyme and mitochondrial DNA analysis of the tropical saddle-tail sea perch, Lutjanus malabaricus (Schneider), from Australian waters

1996 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 869 ◽  
Author(s):  
NG Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Dna Analysis ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Dominant Component ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Sea Perch ◽  
Allozyme Loci

Samples of Lutjanus malabaricus from four localities were examined for genetic variability at 10 polymorphic allozyme loci and, after restriction fragment analysis with five enzymes detecting polymorphic cut sites, in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Twenty composite mtDNA haplotypes were found, with three common haplotypes occurring in 84% of individuals examined. Significant differentiation in haplotype frequencies between individuals sampled from the east coast of Queensland and those from the Gulf of Carpentaria and the North West Shelf suggests little, if any, movement of genes through the Torres Strait since its opening about 8000 years ago. Allozyme allele frequencies differed at one locus (PGM-1*) between samples from the North West Shelf and those from the Gulf of Carpentaria. These results are consistent with a recolonization, after the last ice age, of the more northern waters of Australia from a stock off the west coast. The observation of more nuclear than mitochondrial DNA differentiation may be partly a consequence of a female bias in sex ratios. The suggested presence of multiple stocks (North West Shelf, Gulf of Carpentaria, east coast of Queensland) of L. malabaricus, a dominant component of the northern Australian finfish fishery, should be considered in future management plans.

Developing Location-based Oil Spill Waste Management Plans

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 1633-1646
Author(s):  
Stuart Metcalf
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Exploration And Production ◽  
Comprehensive Plans ◽  
Alternative Scenarios ◽  
Complexity Cost ◽  
Treatment And Disposal

ABSTRACT The management of waste arising from offshore and in particular on-shore oil spill response activities can often incur more cost and resources than the responses themselves. Careful pre-planning can deliver more efficient and effective implementation, minimising both impact and cost and providing the opportunity for improved stakeholder engagement and media interaction. Current practice necessarily focuses much effort and resource on two goals:the development of comprehensive plans to prevent oil releases from offshore oil exploration and production facilitiesdetailed planning of effective responses if they do arise. In many cases, detailed planning for the management of wastes appears to have been left largely until after a release has occurred. This is understandable when a vessel is the source of the spill as none of the critical variables can be defined in advance. However, when releases originate from offshore oilfield infrastructure it is possible to define many of these variables with reasonable accuracy and to use them as the basis for detailed and focused pre- incident planning, yet oil spill planners still seem to have been reluctant to address this issue. This is possibly due to the inherent complexity, cost and lack of perceived benefit of pre- incident waste management planning – it is hoped this paper will stimulate rethinking of this approach. A significant number of the factors which influence the preparation of an effective waste management plan derive from the impacted location, (forecast using trajectory modelling). This information (shoreline substrate, clean up techniques, logistics, resources etc.) can be used to develop models that estimate waste arising from individual sections of shoreline - these can then be consolidated with data from other shoreline sections to determine waste stream types and quantities on a local and regional basis. Options for reuse/recycling/treatment and disposal and the resources required can also be assessed, allowing the development of strategies for delivery of the selected options. Assessments can also be made of the need/benefit for providing stockpiles of materials and/or equipment. Considering key issues before an incident arises enables these to be reviewed more comprehensively in a non-crisis situation. The development of models facilitates review of alternative scenarios and quick adjustment to the plans if an actual release occurs and more accurate details become available. The approach proposed can be applied to any geographical location. The paper outlines this process, examples of the results and the benefits of its adoption.

scholarly journals Exploring the microbial diversity in oil-contaminated mangrove sediments using 16S rRNA metagenomics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahdi Ghanbari ◽  
Mansooreh Jami ◽  
Mohsen Shahriari Moghadam ◽  
Konrad J. Domig
Keyword(s):  
16S Rrna ◽  
Habitat Restoration ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Mangrove Ecosystem ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Mangrove Forests ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
16S Rrna Metagenomics

AbstractWith an area of 390 hectares, the mangrove forests of Nayband Bay are the widest mangrove communities above 27 degrees latitude in the Persian Gulf. They are the last dense, extensive structures of these ecosystems found in the north-west Indian Ocean. Growing industrial activities near the Nayband Bay and the consequent marine pollution has resulted in damage and threatened different marine habitats in recent years. To date, a comprehensive description of the microbial life in the mangrove ecosystem that has been exposed to oil contamination is lacking. This information could significantly contribute to a better overview of the function and resilience of the ecosystem. This work represents a first effort to better understand the Nayband Bay mangrove microbiology by applying 16S rRNA metagenomics. A total of 65,408 readings from the V3–V4 16S rRNA gene regions were obtained from 24 sediment samples, each measuring 440 bp. Most sequences belonged to members of the Proteobacteria phylum (mainly γ-Proteobacteria); however, members of the Bacteroidetes phylum (mainly Flavobacteriia) were also well represented in the samples. We discovered that the community of this ecosystem strongly exhibit typical structures of oil-contaminated marine environments. This is likely due to the growing industrial activity in the area and its consequent marine polluting effects. The use of practicable and applicable bioremediation protocols for habitat restoration in this valuable area is needed.

scholarly journals Marine protected areas of the North-West Pacific (current status, management plans and development strategies)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
А.Н. КАЧУР
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Russian Far East ◽  
Far East ◽  
Current Status ◽  
West Pacific ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
The Russian Far East

Дана оценка состояния морских охраняемых районов (МОР) в водах дальневосточных морей России, предложены меры по их количественной и качественной оптимизации, приведены ссылки на российские нормативные материалы, регулирующие создание и функционирование МОР, а также международные, определяющие направления развития региональной системы МОР в Северо-Западной Пацифике. Evaluation of the marine protected areas (MPA) in the seas of the Russian Far-East is given, measures on their quantitative and qualitative optimization are offered and Russian standard materials regulating the creation and functioning of MPA, as well as the international standard materials which determine directions for the development of MPA regional system in the North-West Pacific are referenced.

THE EVOLUTION OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PROGRAM

1994 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 777
Author(s):  
H. B. Goff ◽  
P. D. Farrell
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Experimental Design ◽  
Environmental Monitoring ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Acute Effects ◽  
The North ◽  
Monitoring Strategies ◽  
On Line ◽  
Oilfield Operations

Production of South Pepper Oilfield commenced in 1987. Since that time the North Herald and Chervil fields have been brought on line and have produced in excess of 18 million barrels of oil. Initially environmental management and monitoring strategies attempted to understand and predict changes to the ecosystems caused by acute impacts such as a major oil spill. Over the life of the project the emphasis in environmental monitoring has shifted from measuring for acute effects to measuring on a more sensitive scale to predict and monitor the chronic impacts of oilfield operations. Monitoring efforts consequently have changed emphasis so that a better understanding of impacts is now possible due to the introduction of a more rigorous experimental design.

BARROW ISLAND OILFIELD ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW — 25 YEARS OF LEARNING

1991 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 431
Author(s):  
R.D. Lagdon
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Workforce Education ◽  
Seismic Exploration ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Management Procedures ◽  
Exploration And Production ◽  
Conservation Values ◽  
Planning Development

Barrow Island, off the north-west coast of Western Australia, was declared a Class 'A' Nature Reserve for the protection of flora and fauna in 1908. Since 1963, West Australian Petroleum Pty Limited (WAPET) has conducted oil exploration and production operations on the island, producing over 235 million barrels of oil. The fact that the introduction of exotic plants and animals has been prevented and the island's full suite of native species remains intact is due to a rigorous environmental program. In developing and refining that management program over the past 25 years, WAPET has pioneered environmental management and rehabilitation techniques. In 1988-89, WAPET carried out a comprehensive review and audit of its management procedures to satisfy itself that its operations continued to meet the high environmental standards expected of our industry. The review critically examined the impacts of operational procedures including seismic exploration, gravel extraction, quarantine, rehabilitation and workforce education to determine the effect of the operations on the conservation values of Barrow Island. The Barrow Island operation demonstrates that with proper management and planning, development and conservation are not incompatible.

scholarly journals Monitoring Land Use Change and Vegetation Dynamics by Remote Sensing in the Steppe Region of Sidi Bel Abbes (Northwest, Algeria)

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 71-81
Author(s):  
Wael El Zerey ◽  
Mamfoumby Gael ◽  
Asma EL Zerey-Belaskri
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Landscape Management ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
The South ◽  
North West ◽  
Modis Ndvi ◽  
The North ◽  
Steppe Region ◽  
Management Plans

The application of remote sensing in land cover changes monitoring is a very efficient tool, for landscape management in arid regions. To assess the spatial-temporal dynamics, of egetation, in the southern region of Sidi Bel Abbes, for the period (2001- 2014), Landsat and MODIS NDVI data were processed and analysed using remote sensing software. The obtained results, confirm that the steppe region is highly degraded in the south and in the south-east, with light progression of vegetation noticed in the north and the north-west of the study area. The increase of vegetation cover is related to the reforestation actions, engaged by the forest services. For decision makers, the use of satellite imagery can improve the strategic conservation and management plans of the steppe ecosystem.International Journal of EnvironmentVolume-6, Issue-3, Jun-Aug 2017, Page:71-81

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