Environmental impact of seismic exploration activities in PELs 5 & 6, SA ? a department of mines and energy perspective

Abstract

The South Australian Department of Mines and Energy, with Delhi Petroleum Pty Ltd and SANTOS Ltd, the operators of PELs 5 and 6, adopted a Joint Operations Management Group (JOMG) approach to the consideration of seismic operations in the Cooper Basin as part of a jointly managed self regulatory environmental control process. The JOMG, comprising representatives from the Department and the Operators, has developed codes of environmental practice that have been field tested, modified and updated to suit exploration techniques and environmental conditions in PELs 5 and 6. The JOMG has also reviewed programs and monitored effectiveness of these codes. Recent changes to the Regulations under the Petroleum Act in SA have introduced a requirement for a code of environmental practice to be submitted before an operation is commenced under a licence, and for a declaration of environmental factors to be submitted for approval before the commencement of a geophysical program (Appendix 1). The joint code of environmental practice developed by JOMG over the years will form the basis of a new code produced solely by SANTOS which will now be legally enforceable in PELs 5 and 6. A recent review of exploration activities and their management in PELs 5 and 6 by the CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Rangelands Research, utilizing Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery combined with field inspections, indicated that the JOMG has been singularly successful in minimising environmental impact of seismic operations in the Cooper Basin.