PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISK MANAGEMENT-GORGON LNG PROJECT CASE STUDY

Abstract

Stoklosa Engineering has been working with the petroleum industry to develop an environmental risk management methodology that can be generally applied to petroleum industry activities. In particular, the methodology is for assessing and managing ecological risk in sensitive marine environments.

This paper introduces a management and technical methodology for the risk assessment process that has been applied to planning scenarios for the Gorgon LNG Project. The methodology has evolved from earlier efforts by petroleum operators and government in Western Australia to quantify ecological risk. The principles of Standards Australia risk management publications, State risk management initiatives and international approaches have been preserved in the methodology.

The basis for a quantitative analysis of the likelihood of an incident is described, with a qualitative or semiquantitative analysis of the severity of the potential consequences. The technical approach adopts the principles of AS/NZS 4360 for risk management, and characterises risk for decision makers in an unambiguous manner. The methodology leads to a clear understanding of the benefits of risk management, and allows proponents the opportunity to reduce risk to acceptable levels. The risks of development should be interpreted in the context of naturally occurring hazards to environmental systems (e.g. cyclones and coral spawning slicks), human activities (e.g. recreation, fisheries and aquaculture), and the natural variability of ecosystems.

The Gorgon LNG Project case study characterises risk in terms of credible incident scenarios and baseline operational activities from project planning scenarios. The inputs to the risk assessment are release scenarios, fate and transport modelling, response mechanisms in sensitive species, and recovery mechanisms following exposure. The methodology can be broadly applied to offshore and onshore development projects and environmental management programs, as it is presented as a repeatable process that can incorporate various types of risk analysis methods.