The plunder of our seas

Deep sea Drilling in New Zealand

ENN,

6 November, 2013

Deep sea drilling will soon commence in the rough waters off the New Zealand 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 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.

Read more at ENN affiliate, The Ecologist.

From Greenpeace -

Anadarko's deep sea drill-ship the the Noble Bob Douglas is now close to New Zealand waters. It’s set to begin drilling in very deep waters off the west coast of the North Island this month ... and it will be met by the Oil Free Seas Flotilla!

Today, the first boat will set sail from Bluff and others are leaving ports from all over NZ in the coming days - so please get along and give them a good send off. There are departures from Bluff, Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland, Kaikoura, Opua and Dunedin - more details here.

All together they’ll head out over 100 nautical miles into the Tasman Sea to confront the Texan oil giant and say NO to deep sea drilling.

The latest in a long and proud tradition of protest at sea, this is a true "people's flotilla". It’s made up of veterans of past oceangoing protest such as the Peace Flotilla that sailed to Mururoa, the Nuclear Free Flotillas that protested plutonium shipments through the Tasman, and, most recently, the Stop Deep Sea Oil flotilla that worked in alliance with Te Whanau a Apanui to help chase Petrobras from the deep seas off the East Cape. But not all are salty old sea dogs, and some of the crew have never protested before so they need your support! Greenpeace is helping with logistics and communications, and we are sponsoring and crewing one of the yachts. If you'd like to contribute, you can chip in towards provisions and communications costs here.

Anadarko is about to start highly risky exploratory drilling at depths of 1500m. That’s 10 times deeper than NZ’s deepest offshore oil production well and the same depth as the disastrous Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, which Anadarko was also involved in.

As we’ve seen with our recent oil spill modelling, if a blowout happens at these depths, the results could be devastating for our environment, economy and way of life. It’s not worth the risk.

Not only is the government pushing for evermore risky frontiers in oil drilling, but they’ve passed new legislation aimed at impeding the long-standing right to protest peacefully at sea.

It’s time for New Zealand to Get Free from the reckless expansion of fossil fuel extraction and instead embrace a clean, smart, renewable future.

We’ll be doing all we can to support the flotilla, and hope you will stand with us!

More to come,

Nick and the whole crew at Greenpeace