PETROLEUM OPERATIONS IN THE ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE NORTHERN PERTH BASIN, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Abstract

Barrack Energy Limited is an Australian company involved in the search for petroleum in Australia. The company's principal area of exploration and production is the northern portion of the onshore Perth Basin in Western Australia. In this area, the company operates four permits and one production licence covering an area of almost 15 000 square kilometres (3.7 million acres).

For the period 1987 to 1989, Barrack Energy Limited acquired 1238 line km of seismic in the northern Perth Basin. This was conducted in fourteen surveys extending from Lancelin in the south to Dongara in the north.

Petroleum exploration and production operations in the northern Perth Basin are highly visible and require painstaking and careful planning, permitting and negotiation to achieve the multiple land use goals of minimum disturbance to private landowners and minimum impact and zero long term effects on the environment.

Due to the large areas of Vacant Crown Land and flora and fauna reserves in the northern Perth Basin, the impact of seismic line clearance upon the terrain was a major consideration. Barrack Energy Limited decided to experiment with various mechanical systems to clear seismic lines in order to determine the optimum operational and environmental technique. The bulldozer/ grader combination proved to be the most practical line clearance method available. The dozer need not be a tool of destruction and when operated correctly does no more damage than other methods tried.

At all times Barrack Energy Limited has striven to ensure that the impact on the surrounding countryside by its exploration and production activity is kept to an absolute minimum. The company works closely with the local community to ensure that the local residents are comfortable at all times with the company's operating methods.