Deep-sea drilling in New Zealand waters

Risks of deep sea drilling kept secret: Labour

The Government has deliberately withheld information of "vital national importance" surrounding plans to drill for oil off the Kaikoura coast, Labour says.

Stuff,

21 November, 2013

Documents showed Environment Minister Amy Adams had kept secret the real risk of an incident occurring at the depths of Anadarko's proposed Kaikoura drilling site, Labour leader David Cunliffe said.

The documents, released by Cunliffe in Christchurch this afternoon, showed Adams had received international research 13 months ago.

It showed a 70 per cent probability of a "reportable incident" happening within a year at the 1500-metre depth of the Kaikoura well. Such incidents could include an oil spill, fire or collision.

The documents showed that while existing shallow-water sites such as Taranaki carried a risk of only about 10 per cent, the risk increased dramatically at deeper levels, Cunliffe said.

"Amy Adams went to great lengths to keep this information from the public. In fact, she told Parliament there is a 'very low risk' of a large-scale oil spill occurring.

"The Government needs to be honest about the risks of deep-sea oil drilling, especially when the Kaikoura community and the wider public hold serious reservations about Anadarko's plans."

Adams said "reportable incidents" covered a wide range of scenarios, including any damage to property, days off work and shut downs, so the 70 per cent figure did not reflect the danger of a spill.

"It's quite wrong to say that that reflects the risk of oil spill," Adams said.

"The risk [of a spill] exists; we've never hidden that fact, but it is a very low risk and the focus needs to be on containing and controlling and stopping them happening, and not just looking at what would happen if they did."

It was not the first time the Government had misled the public over this issue, Cunliffe said.

"Last year the energy and resources minister told Kaikoura residents they would be consulted on exploration drilling but this year National rushed through legislation taking away that democratic right.

"In September Amy Adams said the impact of an oil spill would be 'significant' but it turns out she'd been told it would be 'catastrophic'.

"Last month John Key claimed there had only been one 'problem' in the Gulf of Mexico but there have been 74 major spills."

Head of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association (Pepanz), David Robinson, said it was vital that Kiwis had responsible information about deep sea oil drilling, but criticised Labour's release of the documents.

"Communities are calling for more responsible information about deep sea drilling. Instead, Labour Leader David Cunliffe's announcement today is riddled with inaccurate assertions which are harmful to the oil and gas industry here in New Zealand and potential investors looking to come to our shores," Robinson said.

"Labour claims they have 'unearthed' secret documents hidden by the Government - the truth is you can find the report online here. Or use Google.

"They claim there is a "well /drilling site" in Kaikoura - again, this is incorrect. Anadarko has planned seismic surveys for the area - but that's as far as it goes.

"Taking information out of context or using images without the commentary and research it was published with is misleading and does not contribute to a balanced conversation that our country needs to have about energy."

Labour's assertion that the probability of an incident increased the deeper you drill offshore was actually based on a report that said it was the number of incidents such as injuries, falls or spills that increased.

"The 70 per cent does not refer simply the probability of a large oil spill - in fact it is saying the more people and machinery you use - the more chance there is of a cut finger, injury, fire or any other incident that you would see on a construction site anywhere.

"We know we still have a lot of work to do to provide Kiwis with responsible information to give them confidence that we operate safely, to the highest standards under robust regulations."

Cunliffe said Labour supported deep-sea mining "in principle", but it wanted all the facts released so people had all the information available. For any consent to be approved under his government, Cunliffe said it would need world-class environmental standards, cleanup capability, full liability cover and a good level of consultation with affected communities.

"A major oil spill would affect our international reputation, not just our environment, and harm our exports and tourist operators. We can't afford to risk our future for a short-term gain," he said.

Cunliffe said the information was of "vital national importance".

"We think it is reprehensible the Key Government has withheld from the New Zealand public for over a year."

Labour had fought to get the information released.

The industry knew it has to earn the social right to explore New Zealand but that balance had been lost under the Key government's approach which he said "time after time, favours the interests of the big end of town".

"I think this is a deliberate attempt by a relevant minister to deny the public information which is absolutely crucial to a mature debate on this issue."

Pepanz welcomed Labour's qualified support for the industry.

"With the world class standards our industry operates under, the real commitment we have to engaging with communities, the first class technologies to not only prevent incidents but to respond and our willingness to take responsibility for our operations should give Labour the confidence that their support of our industry is not misplaced," Robinson said.

New Zealand at risk of becoming the next oil exploration frontier

Deep sea drilling will soon commence in the rough waters off the NZ coast. This could mark the beginning of an oil rush in which democratic process, public concern, environmental protection and safety considerations are all swept aside.

The Ecologist,

6 November, 2013

“The logical future direction for New Zealand is blatantly obvious if it wants to live up to its green reputation”

The Arctic is a unique and globally significant ecosystem. It is a fragile wilderness that is being rapidly reshaped by human actions. Anthropogenic climate change is driving the loss of sea ice, leaving ever greater expanses of the Arctic Ocean ice free.

With a tragic inevitability, oil companies like Gazprom and Shell are greedily eyeing up the opportunities for offshore exploration in this new frontier. If an oil spill were to happen in the Arctic, the damage would be devastating on a global scale. 

This is why 30 brave people took part in a peaceful protest against Gazprom, one of the oil companies that is rushing to exploit the Russian Arctic. The heavy handed response of the Russian authorities to the Arctic 30 is clearly intended to make an example of those who are willing to raise their voice to protect the world’s most vulnerable areas from reckless and profiteering oil companies. 

Mirroring the Arctic: the New Zealand story 

Half a world away, an eerily similar story to the one the world is watching in the Arctic is unfolding. The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around New Zealand is fifteen times larger than the country’s land area - it extends from the sub-tropical to the sub-Antarctic. Like the Arctic, New Zealand’s EEZ supports a multitude of species which travel from far-flung areas of the globe to reach these rich waters. Like the Arctic, New Zealand’s EEZ is fast becoming an oil exploration frontier. 

In the Arctic, drilling rig operators must contend with the extreme polar conditions and sea ice. In New Zealand, notoriously rough seas and the deep ocean will test the limits of drilling technology. The deepest offshore oil production well in New Zealand is currently 125 m below the ocean’s surface. In a matter of weeks, Texan oil company Anadarko will drill its first deep sea oil well 1500 m below the waves of the Tasman sea. This is the first exploration well in what is shaping up to be an onslaught of deep sea oil drilling in the coming years. 

To expedite the deep sea oil rush, a legislative process is underway to remove any consultation rights from the New Zealand public regarding proposals to drill new offshore exploratory oil wells. Meanwhile, in May of 2013 the government rushed through a law, infamously known as the ‘Anadarko amendment’, banning protest within 500 m of a rig or drill ship operating within the New Zealand EEZ. The penalties for entering this 500 m zone include hefty fines and up to a year in prison. Like the Russian response to the Arctic 30, the message from the New Zealand government is clear: opposition to oil drilling is not welcome here.

The dangers of deep sea oil 

Public concern in New Zealand over this deep sea oil rush is understandable. In 2010, the environmental and economic devastation that a deep sea oil spill may cause became a terrible reality in the Gulf of Mexico. Vast quantities of oil gushed into the Gulf unimpeded for 87 days before the spill was capped. As a quarter share investor in the well, Anadarko (the same company at the vanguard of the New Zealand oil rush) were found jointly liable for the worst oil spill in history.

The New Zealand government claims that the nation is equipped to deal with a deep sea oil spill. Despite the imminent arrival of Anadarko’s drill ship, a full environmental impact assessment for the drilling has yet to be released by the country’s Environmental Protection Agency. A key piece of information - the spill modelling showing what the possible impacts of a deep sea spill may be - has been withheld from the New Zealand public.

In the face of this obfuscation, Greenpeace New Zealand commissioned its own spill modelling. The results of the industry standard numerical modelling paint a sobering picture of just how unprepared the country is to deal with even a small oil spill.

The oil spill model for New Zealand: oilspillmap.org.nz allows visitors to explore the likely impacts of an oil spill, as well as the science behind the model. 

It is New Zealand’s clean, green reputation which attracts tourists, a fact exploited by the 100% Pure New Zealand marketing brand used by Tourism New Zealand.

 The nation’s export economy is also heavily reliant on this reputation. It is therefore no exaggeration to say that the effects of a spill would be devastating and long-lasting for New Zealand’s environment and economy. A question that arises from all this, is what does New Zealand stand to gain if vast oil reserves are found in its deep oceans? 

Not worth the rush 

Politicians and industry give vague promises of an economic boost, energy security and more jobs as a justification for risky oil exploration. However, carbon-intensive assets are likely to be stranded as global pressure mounts for stronger regulation of carbon emissions before we exceed 2°C warming, perceived as the climate tipping point from which there will be no return.

By the time any current offshore exploration permits in New Zealand have moved into production, which is likely to be in five to ten years time, the economic landscape may well mean that costly deep sea operations are no longer tenable. In essence, the emerging picture is that, as a new deep sea oil exploration frontier, New Zealand will carry all the risk and could stand to reap very little reward.

To protect fragile frontiers such as the Arctic and the deep oceans of New Zealand from the threat of catastrophic oil spills and the effects of a changing climate, the world is crying out for a shift away from fossil fuels. With 75% of its electricity demands already met by renewable sources, New Zealand is exceptionally well placed to capitalise on the growing global demand for renewable energy and climate change solutions.

In fact, economic analysis reveals that investing in clean energy can create four times more jobs than investing the same amount in oil and gas industries. The logical future direction for New Zealand is blatantly obvious if it wants to live up to its green reputation.

The actions of the Arctic 30 in Russia exemplify the enormous courage and conviction needed to protect the world’s most vulnerable wildernesses from exploitation by oil companies like Gazprom, Shell and Anadarko. In New Zealand, the movement opposing deep sea oil is growing and ultimately, where the people lead, ‘the leaders’ will have no choice but to follow.

The coming antipodean summer marks the crossroads where the energy future of New Zealand will be decided.

Rachael Shaw joined Greenpeace after completing her PhD studies. Her role involves communicating the scientific work of Greenpeace in New Zealand.