Monitoring marine effects of produced formation water discharge in Bass Strait
Lachlan Barnes A , Katrina Hall B C , Craig Blount A , Madelaine Hooper A , David van Senden A , Andrew Costen A , Chris Scraggs A , David Provis A and Daniel Pygas AA Cardno Pty Ltd, Level 9, 203 Pacific Highway, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia.
B Esso Australia Pty Ltd, Level 9, 664 Collins Street, Docklands, Victoria 3008, Australia.
C Corresponding author. Email: Katrina.L.Hall@exxonmobil.com
The APPEA Journal 59(1) 1-24 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ18226
Submitted: 14 December 2018 Accepted: 25 February 2019 Published: 17 June 2019
Abstract
Esso Australia Pty Ltd (Esso), in a joint venture with BHP Petroleum Pty Ltd, operates 23 oil and gas production platforms and subsea facilities off the Victorian coast near Gippsland, Australia. The underlying reservoirs have multi-darcy sands and a strong aquifer water drive, so in addition to oil and gas, the extraction activities result in substantial amounts of produced formation water (PFW). Following on-platform treatment, PFW containing a variety of hydrocarbons, ions and inorganics, such as calcium, ammonia, sulfate and trace metals, is discharged into the receiving environment. This paper reports on a study undertaken to investigate the potential effects of PFW discharges from two platforms (Tuna (TNA) and West Kingfish (WKF)) on the receiving environment. Four complementary sampling approaches were used to address the objectives of the study: (1) measure and estimate the dilution of Rhodamine FWT dye solution in the receiving environment following injection into the PFW discharge line, (2) collect and analyse undiluted PFW samples before discharge, (3) collect and analyse marine water samples from within the discharge plume and (4) collect and analyse sediment and benthic infauna samples at various distances away from platforms and at reference locations. Results indicate the rate of PFW dilution within the receiving environment is more rapid than predicted by existing numerical models and that the concentration of all analytes present in PFW were below Australian and New Zealand Environment Conservation Council (ANZECC) 2000 guideline trigger values for 80% protection; moreover, with one exception, analytes were not detected above background levels more than 59 m from the platform. With the exception of a few samples containing metals, specifically arsenic, copper, lead, zinc and nickel, concentrations of analytes in the majority of sediment samples collected were below the ANZECC 2000 and revised 2013 sediment quality guidelines. A diverse range of benthic infauna were sampled, with the abundance of a limited number of taxa influenced by distance from individual platforms. No substantial differences in abundances of benthic infauna were detected at distances greater than 1.3 km from TNA and 1.0 km from WKF, compared with reference locations. These results indicate that PFW discharges from TNA and WKF likely represent a low risk to the receiving environment.
Keywords: analytes, Australia, benthic infauna, concentration, dilution, discharge, model, oil and gas, platform, plume, rhodamine dye, sediment, sediment quality, species distribution, Victoria.
Lachlan Barnes holds a PhD (Marine Ecology) from Macquarie University and is currently Group Manager for the Environment for the Water and Environment business unit at Cardno. Lachlan has more than 15 years’ experience in the field of aquatic ecology and biology with extensive experience in the design, implementation and realisation of numerous research projects. This experience includes the coordination of large, multidisciplinary project teams and the development of complex sampling methodologies for monitoring and assessment programs. His specific areas of expertise include biology and ecology of marine fishes, marine habitat surveys, sediment sampling and experimental design, including data analysis. |
Katrina Hall holds degrees in Environmental Engineering (Hons) and Commerce from the University of Melbourne, and is a Senior Environmental Advisor for Esso Australia Pty Ltd, which is a subsidiary of ExxonMobil Australia Pty Ltd, She has more than 16 years of experience with ExxonMobil, having worked in various roles, including production engineering and reservoir engineering, but has spent the majority of her career in the Environmental Team. In her capacity as an Environmental Specialist, she has been involved in environmental aspects assessments and energy efficiency assessments, prepared environmental management and monitoring plans and environmental business plans, managed Esso’s relationship with environmental regulators, prepared for and advocated carbon emissions reporting and provided environmental advice to Esso’s operating facilities. |
Craig Blount has a PhD in Reef Ecology and a Graduate Diploma in Industrial Maths and Computing. As a Regional Senior Principal with Cardno, with 25 years of experience in environmental consulting and fisheries science, Craig has been able to apply his trade in all marine ecosystems, ranging from the tropical to the temperate and the intertidal to the deep ocean. Craig has had the good fortune to work on a diverse range of marine ecological investigations for Cardno’s oil and gas clients and has a reputation for delivering quality studies based on sound scientific advice within a tight timeframe. In recent years, Craig and his colleagues have been delivering nearshore and offshore monitoring programs to meet their clients’ compliance obligations, biophysical studies around platforms and fish-habitat studies in relation to decommissioning of subsea infrastructure. Craig has published in the fields of fisheries biology, marine ecology and fisheries enhancement and is a member of the Australian Coral Reef Society. |
Madelaine Hooper has a Masters of Environmental Science, Bachelor of Environmental Science with a double major in Biology and Environmental Management, Bachelor of International Business and Bachelor of Commerce majoring in economics from Griffith University in Queensland and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Victoria. Madelaine has 5 years’ experience in scientific research and consulting and is currently working at Cardno as an Environmental Scientist. Prior to this, Madelaine worked in insurance and strategic advice in both private and public organisations. Madelaine is a member of Environmental Institute of Australia and New Zealand and Professional Scientists Australia. |
David van Senden has over 25 years’ experience in providing services to clients in the oil and gas industry, water utilities, port development and catchment and coastal zone management. After graduating in 1980 with a BSc(Hons) from Flinders University of South Australia, David worked at the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Townsville in the Physical Oceanography team. He took up a PhD scholarship at the University of Western Australia (UWA), in 1982 and, following the completion of his PhD in 1987, moved to Switzerland where he spent 3 years as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow investigating mixing processes and biological interactions in lakes. In 1990, he became the Director of the Coastal and Hydraulic Engineering Laboratory at UWA, where he directed several physical model investigations of wave induced scour around subsea pipelines and numerical modelling of outfall dispersion. He then formed ESE Pty Ltd as a Director and was engaged to undertake a range of investigations for several clients between 1991 and 2001. In 2001, he took up the position of Principal Engineer at Manly Hydraulics Laboratory in Sydney, where he was responsible for managing the team maintaining the NSW real-time Coastal Data network, physical and numerical model investigations. David then moved to Aurecon in 2007 as Manager of the NSW Water Team before commencing with Cardno in 2010. David was Project Director for the INPEX Ichthys Darwin Harbour dredging nearshore environmental monitoring program. He has also directed the Bass Strait produced formation water dispersion investigations for ESSO. He is Cardno’s APPEA Corporate Representative and a member of the Australian Water Association. |
Andrew Costen holds a Bachelor of Science with Honours (Earth Science) and is a Principal Marine and Coastal Scientist within Cardno’s Asia-Pacific Water and Environment practice. He has 23 years’ experience working for specialist science and engineering consultancies and government environmental management agencies. Andrew has considerable expertise in the design, capture and analysis of sediment and water quality data required to support environmental impact assessments, approval applications and monitoring programs. Andrew is a Certified Environmental Practitioner (EIANZ), a member of the Australian Marine Science Association and the Central Dredging Association Environment Commission’s (CEDA) Working Group on Seafloor Integrity. |
Christopher Scraggs holds a degree in Coastal Engineering (Hons) from Griffith University and is a Principal Coastal Engineer at Cardno. Chris has over 12 years of experience specialising in numerical modelling of coastal and fluvial processes such as waves, currents, tides, littoral processes, sediment transport and water quality using Deltares (including Delft3D) and DHI modelling software. Chris has extensive specialist experience using numerical modelling to determine metocean design conditions for planning and design purposes, including in cyclone prone areas such as the north-east and north-west coast of Australia, the east coast of Oman and the Bay of Bengal. |
David Provis is a Senior Principal of Cardno with more than 40 years’ experience in coastal oceanography, including the design and execution of oceanographic field work, data analysis and numerical modelling. He graduated from Flinders University of South Australia and completed a PhD at the University of Essex in the UK. After six years as a Research Fellow at Flinders University, he joined Steedman Limited (now RPS Metocean) in 1981, where he was a Director until 1995 when he started at Lawson and Treloar Pty Ltd, which merged with Cardno in 2004. He was a member of National Committee on Coastal and Ocean Engineering, IEAust 2005–2017, and is now a Corresponding Member. He was a member of the Victorian Coastal Council 2015 – 2018. He was a part-time Research Professor Swinburne University of Technology 2015–2017. He is also a member of the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society. |
Daniel Pygas has a Masters of Research majoring in Marine Ecology and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) majoring in Marine Biology. Daniel has 10 years’ experience in marine ecology and is currently working at Cardno as a Senior Environmental Scientist. Previously, Daniel worked in the UK as an Environmental Scientist. |
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