Petrobras, oil exploration and the Rena disaster

Many thanks to Frank McSkasy for this first-rate article.

Petrobras withdraws – sanity prevails

Frankly Speaking,

5 December, 2012

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Sanity has prevailed – albeit perhaps temporarily – as Brazilian oil company, Petrobras, has announced it’s withdrawal from further prospecting in the Raukumara Basin, off the East Coast of New Zealand.


Petrobras was first granted a prospecting permit on 1 June 2010. The signing was met with approval by Dear Leader,
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John Key, Gerry Brownlee, and Marcelo Carlos Lins Vertis, on 1 June 2010

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Gerry Brownlee (then Minister  of Energy) granted Petrobras a five-year exploration permit covering  12, 330 sq kilometres (red lined area in map below),
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Acknowledgement: unattachednz: Petrobras Protest
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Sixteen months later, on 5 October 2011,  the MV Rena smashed into the Astrolabe Reef, also off the East Coast of New Zealand,
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Oil began leaking from the stranded ship, eventually dumping an estimated 350  tonnes of heavy fuel oil into the sea,
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Much of this oil eventually washed onto East Coast beaches, killing an estimated 20,000 local birdlife,
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Volunteers cleaning up the mess were faced with heart-breaking  sights like this,
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Meanwhile, John Key was otherwise engaged in more important government duties,
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Full story
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Whilst it is unclear why Petrobras has backed away from continuing to exercise it’s license to prospect the Raukumara Basin for gas and oil, there are many New Zealanders who will be giving a sigh of relief.
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It  was fairly obvious to most people with a modicum of common sense that New Zealand was ill-prepared for a major oil spill disaster, as happened in the Gulf of Mexico two years ago.


Our own Rena oil-spill created an enormous ecological disaster,
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Meanwhile, our witless National ministers can’t even get their stories straight. Energy Minister, Phil Heatley issued this explanational why Petrobras was leaving,

“I’ve met with them and they’ve said pretty clearly that it’s sort of technical reasons and prospectivity, meaning that they didn’t find enough to keep them sort of on the string so they want to regroup in Brazil. But we believe that there’s opportunities out there in the Raukumara Basin; others might pick up those particular permits and we might still see opportunities.”

See: Petrobras pulls out of NZ oil exploration

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If Petrobras “didn’t find enough to keep them sort of on the string ” – why would any other oil company be interested?! At $1 million a day, no oil company would be interested in taking the prospecting permit for the Raukumara Basin if  there was nothing there.
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Indeed, if Petrobras is  in dire financial straits, we are fortunate that they have pulled out now. One can only imagine a cash-strapped oil company, engaged in risky deep-sea drilling, and cutting safety corners .

The Pike River Mine disaster springs to mind what happens when companies ignore basic safety in the pursuit of profits.
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Indeed, the Royal Commission into the Pike River Mine disaster found  that the company put profits ahead of safety,

The Royal Commission of Inquiry’s report on the Pike River Mine disaster has slammed mine management and the Department of Labour for a lax attitude toward health and safety.

It highlights a culture of “production and profits before safety” which was enforced by managers, and paints a damning picture of ignored safety warnings and sidelined investigations into previous accidents.

See:  Report slams lax safety practices at Pike River mine

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Now consider a deep sea drilling rig  operating under similar circumstances – taking into regard New Zealand’s lax laws under our current de-regulated safety regime (courtesy National,  1992)  – and the potential for a repeat of the  Deepwater Horizon disaster on 20 April  2010 becomes wholly apparent,

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The initial explosion killed 11 men working on the platform; injured 17 others; and released about 4.9 million barrels of oil into the ocean from a 10,680 metre deep well.

The water depth was approximately 1,260 metres.

The crisis lasted for  eightyseven  days.
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By comparison, the Rena stranding was on the sea surface and relatively easy to access,
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It took over five weeks for  salvage crews to  finish pumping 1,454 tons of oil from the Rena. After fourteen months, the wreck of the now-submerged vessel remains, in pieces, on the reef along with an unknown number of sunken containers.


Now compare the depth of  where Deepwater Horizon was operating in the Gulf of Mexico (1,260 metres), with that of the Raukumara Basin,
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It took the Americans 87 days; with all their technological prowess; their Coastguard and navy;  and billions of dollars, to cap an oil spill that was in waters 1.26 kilometres (1,260 metres) deep.

Parts of the Raukumara Basin are over 6 kilometers (six thousand metres) deep.
Despite constant questions to Key and his Ministers, there is no indication that New Zealand is in any way prepared to deal with an oil blow-out that is six kilometres under water. National has consistantly fobbed off questions of concern regarding this country’s ability to address a critical oil spill.


As recently as 24 October, this exchange took place between Dear Leader and Russell Norman, of the Green Party.,

Questions for oral answer

5. Oil and Gas Exploration—Deep-sea Oil-drilling and Environmental Risk

5. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN (Co-Leader—Green) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement, “We’re not environmental bandits. If we don’t believe drilling can take place in a way that is environmentally sustainable and wouldn’t put at undue risk the environment, we wouldn’t go with it.”; if so, why?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) : I stand by my full statement, which included that we want to balance our economic opportunities with our environmental responsibilities; because it is true.

Dr Russel Norman: How is deep-sea drilling not putting the environment at undue risk, when just this month Dayne Maxwell of Maritime New Zealand said about the Government’s oil response equipment: “Most of the response equipment that we have is designed for near-shore sheltered conditions, and really there isn’t available internationally any equipment specifically designed to operate in the rough kind of conditions offshore that we have in New Zealand.”?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well, that is one person’s view. I think it is also worth remembering that if somebody gets a permit to go and undertake these activities in the exclusive economic zone, not only would this Government be filling a gap that was previously left open but also there would no doubt be conditions on that. Finally, as I said yesterday, there have been 50,000 wells drilled in the Gulf of Mexico. Is the member arguing that all of those wells were a high risk and should have been closed up?

Dr Russel Norman: How is deep-sea drilling not putting the environment at undue risk, when the head of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association said in April 2011: “You know, there is no absolute guarantee that disasters won’t happen, and if you had a major catastrophe, it would be just as bad as you have in North America.”—aka Deepwater Horizon?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Firstly, I mean, the member asked me yesterday about the head of Anadarko. One of the things he did say to me in the meeting was that there were a lot of learnings that had come out of that situation, and that they can be applied so that those things do not happen again. Secondly, if the member is reflecting on a comment by an individual that basically says there are no guarantees in life, well, actually, that is true, but, on the same basis, the member will never get on a plane again, never get in a car again, never get on a train again, never do a lot of things he does, because the risk is that something very bad can happen.

Dr Russel Norman: How is deep-sea drilling not putting the environment at undue risk when a leak at 2.5 kilometres under water cannot be fixed by divers, and companies are forced to rely on robots and relief rigs, and this is diametrically different from operating in shallow water, like the case in Taranaki, where the deepest production well is only 125 metres deep?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY: All of those issues in mitigation of any risk would have to be considered as part of an application to drill in the exclusive economic zone.

Dr Russel Norman: How is deep-sea drilling not putting the environment at undue risk, given that the Gulf of Mexico disaster was stopped only when a second rig drilled a relief well, and this Government will not require a relief rig to be on site during deep-sea drilling operations in New Zealand?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member is jumping to conclusions. He does not know what conditions will be set. But, in the end, I mean, this is really the fundamental problem, is it not, with the Green Party. What Green members are arguing is that everything contains some risk, so they do not want to do anything, except that they want to give lots and lots of money away, which is why they come up with the only solution that that person could come up with—print it!

Dr Russel Norman: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. That was not a question about the Prime Minister’s former job as a currency speculator. It was about deep-sea oil production. [Interruption]

Mr SPEAKER: Order! Order! I think we will consider it a draw at that point.

Dr Russel Norman: Given that the Prime Minister is putting enormous weight on this new piece of flimsy legislation, the exclusive economic zone Act, how does he think that this particular piece of legislation will plug an oil leak at 2.5 kilometres under water? Does he plan to shove the legislation in the hole? Does he think that might work?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I think it is unlikely a couple of bits of paper will work. But let us cut to the chase here. We are a Government that is actually filling a gap that has been missing from our environmental protection. That member has been in the House for how long? And how many members’ bills has he put in about this issue? Oh, that is right—none. What he is focused on is printing money. That is his focus of attention.

Dr Russel Norman: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. My question was not about the Prime Minister’s currency speculation—

Mr SPEAKER: Order! On this occasion I invite the member to reflect on the question he asked. It kind of invited the sort of response he got.

Dr Russel Norman: Why has this Government taken a major anti-environmental turn since the 2011 election; is it because of the rising influence of Steven Joyce and others—environmental bandits within the National Party—who now dominate Cabinet and the Prime Minister?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Shock, horror! It is Steven Joyce’s fault. No. It is because this is a Government that wants, in an environmentally sensible and considered way, also to grow the economic opportunities for New Zealanders. That member wants to go down to the West Coast and say it is really bad that people are losing their jobs, potentially, at Spring Creek, while at exactly the same time he is stopping them getting a job down the road. I call that hypocrisy.

Source
I have re-printed nearly all the text of that exchange to show the reader that,

• National has no answer to critical safety issues surrounding deep-sea drilling,
  

• National is willing to engage in risky commercial behaviour for short term gain,
  

• John Key has a cavalier, foolish attitude when it comes to serious issues like this.
  

Should foreign oil companies engage in deep sea oil drilling, and should a disaster similar to Deepwater Horizon occur, this is what we can expect as a consequence;
1. The economic fallout of any off-shore disaster involving a massive, uncontrollable oil-spill, will impact on our “clean and green” image and will cause incalculable harm to our tourist industry.
2. The harm to our fishing industry in an affected zone will result in lost exports and jobs.
3. As with the owners of the Rena, and BP’s reluctance to pay full costs for the Gulf of Mexico spill, we can expect the owners of a failed deep-sea drilling rig to evade paying for the full clean-up costs and compensation to local businesses that suffer as a consequence.
4. National will hold a Commission of Inquiry into any deep-sea oil spill.
5. Such a Commission will find the oil company  at fault – but not National, who allowed deep-sea drilling to take place without adequate safety precautions in place, in the first place.
6. A token gesture of a ministerial “resignation” will take place. Then followed by John Key wiping his hands and insisting  that,

“The Royal Commission found the Department of [insert name]  itself did not have the focus, capacity or strategies to ensure [insert company]  was meeting its legal responsibilities under health and safety laws, blah, blah, blah…”

See:  Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson resigns in Pike River report fallout
National governments – they permit things to happen.


But never take responsibility.


I doubt John Key and Gerry Brownlee will be helping to clean up the next oil-fouled beach, somewhere on our coastline. That responsibility will go to others, who had no making in the decision to allow deep-sea drilling in our waters.
Never underestimate National politicians (and their supporters) to do dumb things.
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Sources
unattachednz: Petrobras Protest (31 March 2011)
OFW Magazine: Salvage crew returns to NZ ship (Rena, 13 October 2011)
NZ Herald: Rena: Oil clean-up chemical worries Greenpeace (25 Nov 2011)
Business Insider: BP Only Wants To Pay $15 Billion To US Authorities Over The Gulf Oil Spill (9 June 2012)
Business Insider: 19 Months Later, Here’s What We’ve Learned From The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (3 Dec 2012)
NZ Herald: Brazilian oil giant Petrobras dumps NZ exploration permits (4 Dec 2012)
Radio NZ: Petrobras pulls out of NZ oil exploration  (4 Dec 2012)

Previous related blogposts

On the smell of an oily rag (11 Oct 2011)

Additional reading

It’s Déjà vu All Over Again
Gary Taylor: Sloppy oil mining rules too risky
World’s Largest Oil Rig Sinks
Rena timeline

Other blogs
TangataWhenua: Petrobras pulls out of Raukumara Basin
The Jackal:  Petrobras sent packing

Breaking news of Rena

Stern of Rena slipping from reef

The stern section of the cargo ship Rena is slipping from the Astrolabe Reef, off the Bay of Plenty coast, and much of it is now submerged

Radio New Zealand,
10 January, 2011

The vessel grounded on the reef on 5 October last year and has broken into two pieces. The stern began slipping from about 8.30am on Tuesday.

Svitzer Salvage spokesperson Matt Watson, speaking from a helicopter above the ship on Tuesday morning, told Radio New Zealand News the rear section of the stern was submerged and the broken front section was sticking up out of the water.

"It has taken about 45 minutes to get into this position - it appears now that she is holding."

The bow of the ship remained in place on the reef.

Containers spill

Environmental clean-up company Braemar Howells estimates that 400 containers are in the stern section of the Rena.

Spokesperson Grant Dyson says a handful of containers have emerged from the sunken section.

Two tugs have been diverted to the area to take and tow any containers that may surface, he says.

Some 150 containers are estimated to have fallen from the vessel during severe weather at the weekend. Of those, about 25 had washed up on Matakana Island in western Bay of Plenty and 12 others, along with spilled debris had come ashore on Waihi Beach by Tuesday morning.

Work was underway on Waihi Beach, from Papamoa to Kaituna Cut and on Matakana Island to clear debris, an Maritime New Zealand statement said.

Maritime New Zealand has said debris from the Rena could wash up as far as Mercury Bay on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Oil response

Maritime New Zealand said a small amount of oil had spilled from the stern, along with debris - mostly timber - and a small number of containers.

National on scene commander Alex van Wijngaarden said the first oil was likely to reach Motiti Island on Tuesday evening with more predicted to reach the shore at Pukehina on Wednesday.

Oil spill response teams were preparing to clean up the oil and place booms in sensitive areas. The oiled wildlife centre in Tauranga was being reactivated.

Maritime New Zealand said the amount of oil released had not yet been calculated, but is known to be only a fraction of the size of spill released last October.

Exclusion zone

Bay of Plenty Regional Council's Harbourmaster directed all vessels to stay at least 200 metres clear of all containers from the Rena, as well as any salvage vessel working on the response.

These temporary exclusion zones are in addition to the existing exclusion zone, which is an area of sea within three nautical miles of the Astrolabe Reef and any part of the cargo ship.

Rena catastrophe

Reports of thefts as Rena cargo washes ashore

Containers, milk powder and other debris from the Rena have washed up on Waihi Beach.

Stuff,
9 January, 2012, 17.00 NZT

Only half the number of containers previously thought to have been lost overboard when the Rena broke in two actually went into the water.

Maritime New Zealand  believes 150 shipping containers, not the 300 originally thought, toppled from the wreck when the ship broke up in rough seas on Saturday night.

Clean-up crews were today removing debris, including plastic bags of milk powder, from Waihi Beach. Twelve containers have washed ashore between Matakana Island and Waihi.

Claudine Sharp of recovery company Braemar Howells said based on photographs and other evidence it was believed only 150 containers were lost.

Of that, 45 had been identified and tagged for recovery.

The heavier weight of the 20 containers that held dangerous goods meant they remained in the water near the wreck.

Waihi Beach reopened this afternoon after being closed for the morning following reports of thefts of cargo which has washed ashore from the split-in-two Rena.

Waikato police spokesman Andrew McAlley said police, who were working in conjunction with MNZ, closed the beach at  9.15am after reports of theft from the containers.

McAlley reminded people that the property in the containers remained that of its owners and their respective insurance companies.

Waihi police Sergeant Dave Litton said they had received calls about the occupants of a vehicle taking bags of what appeared to be milk powder, before driving off.

"The expert advice we have received is for people not to approach items washed ashore for health reasons and we appeal to those people who have taken objects to return them to the beach where they can be managed by decontamination crews."

Hamilton couple Sally and Greg Jordan, who often holidayed at the beach, popped down for a quick dip about 7.30am only to find two containers had washed up.

The pair went and got rubbish bags to help in the clean up, but were advised against that until more was known about what was inside the containers.

RENA NOW 'VERY, VERY DANGEROUS'

Salvors say they have a range of options for continuing work on the Rena if one or both sections of the grounded container ship sinks, but the situation was now "very, very dangerous".

Svitzer Salvage spokesperson Matthew Watson said the work of removing containers from the remains of the Rena had become "very, very dangerous and very difficult".

If the rear section sank, salvaging containers from the ship would become a far more complicated operation, he told Radio New Zealand.

The biggest concern was for the rear section of the ship which was "wriggling" around in the swell.

If the rear section did sink, or if the front section sunk as well, it was possible salvors could possibly use diving techniques and technology.

"Or they could possibly drag the pieces away to shallower waters. There are all sorts of options and scenarios. We don't know which way it's going to go at the moment," Watson said.

Salvors would continue to make their best efforts to move containers off the Rena when the weather calmed down, but they would not take any silly risks.

Port of Tauranga said it remained open and fully operational.

CONTAINERS MOVING AROUND 'LIKE LITTLE TOYS' 

Grant Dyson, spokesman for container recovery company Braemar Howells, said the plan was to use a helicopter to lift the containers from beaches on to a barge offshore and then deal with them through the usual process.

Stuart Walker, who is on holiday at Waihi Beach, said a yellow unopened container had wedged up on the north end of the beach, and a couple of other containers could be seen bobbing around in the water.

Scattered along the section of beach were clear plastic bags of a yellowy powder, possibly milk powder.

A pack of timber, maybe 3m long by 1.5m wide and 1m high, was also on the beach and some others were visible in the water.

"The waves are moving them around like they're little toys," Walker said.

Reports were also coming in of insulation foam and debris washing ashore between Mt Maunganui and Harrisons Cut at Papamoa.

There was some suggestion the foam might be from refrigerated containers that may have previously fallen into the sea and been stirred up by recent large seas, Dyson said.

The Braemar team would be out in force today hunting down containers, Dyson said.

It had a small fleet at its disposal including fast response craft, a barge with a crane and tugs. There were three boats with sonar scanning equipment and helicopters and fixed wing aircraft on standby.

The strategy was to rope in as many floating containers as possible and hitch them to anchor points at sea.

EXTREME CAUTION URGED

Port of Tauranga has warned ships to use "extreme caution and maintain a vigilant lookout".

Anchorages off the port were likely to be affected by floating containers and debris, and it was recommended they not be used until further notice, the port said.

It had redeployed monitoring of the port channels, utilising side-scanning sonar and magnetometer sweeping.

MNZ said there had been no significant changes to the status of the Rena overnight.

Salvage and spill response experts were making observation flights this morning to find out more about the ship's condition, including container debris and any oil lost from the ship. 

Contractors would respond to any reports of debris or oil that had come ashore.

National on scene commander Alex van Wijngaarden said a response team had been mobilised to deal with any fresh oil released from the ship, and members of the oiled wildlife response team spent the night checking Mt Maunganui and Leisure Island for oiled birds.

Van Wijngaarden said the navy would help patrol the exclusion zone around Rena and ensure harbour channels remained clear.

Any oil coming ashore in the coming days was expected to be much less than the amount that washed up after the Rena first went aground, he said.

"Anyone finding oil or debris is asked to report it immediately and to stay well clear, as all debris must be treated as if it is contaminated."

Regional on scene commander Adam Munro said extensive planning had been undertaken to prepare for oil or shipping containers washing up in the area.

"We have trained staff ready to respond if required and detailed plans are in place which we have prepared with the assistance of Maritime NZ, the salvors and the container recovery company. 

Conditions are extremely changeable, but there is a possibility that debris and oil from the vessel might impact the eastern seaboard of the Coromandel Peninsula, north of Waihi.

MNZ salvage unit manager Dave Billington said reports started coming through about 8pm on Saturday about containers being lost overboard.

A flyover yesterday morning found that the ship's stern was listing at 23 degrees to starboard while the bow section remained firmly wedged on the reef.

The ship was in two pieces that were about 20-30 metres apart.

Rena breaks up in stormy weather

Stricken cargo ship breaks up on reef off New Zealand

A stricken container ship wedged on a reef off a New Zealand holiday spot has broken up in stormy weather but is still on the reef after running aground three months ago, raising fears of a fresh oil spill.

Reuters,

8 January, 2011

The 47,230-tonne Liberian-flagged Rena has been stranded on a reef 22 km (12 miles) off Tauranga on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island since running aground on Oct. 5.

Maritime authorities said both sections of the ship were on the Astrolabe Reef, with the stern section about 30 metres (100 ft) away from the bow after being pounded by wild weather overnight.

For article GO HERE

US Environmental Protection Agency Whistleblower

Toxic Oil Dispersant Cor-exit

From Radio New Zealand - Nine to Noon - Friday 11 November


Hugh Kaufman is a senior policy analyst at the EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. 

He's got serious concerns about the use of highly toxic oil dispersants in the BP gulf oil spill - the same one used her in the Rena disaster.

Rena salvage: 'Preparing for the worst'

Stuff

1 November, 2011, 1.38 pm

Salvors have confirmed the hull of the stricken ship Rena has suffered further damage overnight, fuelling fears the ship could break up in the next two days.

Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) salvage unit manager Bruce Anderson said the team was "preparing for the worst" as the weather was deteriorating with 5-metre swells expected in the next 24 hours.

There were 3-metre swells around the grounded ship today and weather was forecast to get worse.

The Rena had about 1700 tonnes of oil when it crashed into the Astrolabe Reef nearly a month ago, and still had around 350 tonnes remaining on board.

Anderson said salvors had reported further buckling of the hull on the starboard side, but the ship was still holding in one piece for now, as the damage was further back from the main cracks.

"The situation is looking increasingly precarious and we are preparing for the worst," he said.

"The worst of the weather is due to hit around midnight tonight. We are continuing to closely monitor the situation."

For article GO HERE

Rena Oil DISASTER - COREXIT KILLS

This video about the use of Corexit in the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico appeared on the internet as a warning to people cleaning up the  oil in the Bay of Plenty.

I have provided it with the comments of the uploader.

Anyone who is on the RENA clean up crew should watch this! Wear masks and gloves and DO NOT TOUCH THAT STUFF!! God bless you all and our hearts go out to anyone affected by this mess. 

Did we learn ANYTHING from the Gulf Oil spill last year? 

YES! People have died from cleanup and people have died from the spill. BP dumped hundreds of thousands of Corexit to SINK the oil and then introduced a laboratory manufactured BACTERIA to eat it! This is not science fiction - this is real. DO YOUR RESEARCH please!

How crazy that COREXIT is MORE toxic than oil and makes the cleanup IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!! Am I crazy?? (((SIGH)))) what the hell is going on in the world today? All I can say is do not play the lying game and do NOT TRUST people in power to DO THE RIGHT THING! How many more mistakes can be made with the RENA grounding?

Questions raised about Rena oil dispersants

Not too much about this in the media.

Bay of Plenty Times,

11 October, 2011

Dispersant used to clear oil spilled from the stricken cargo ship off the coast of Tauranga could be doing more harm than good, an expert claims.

The Rena this morning leaked between 130 to 350 tonnes of oil.

A Maritime New Zealand spokesman said the leak was in a main fuel tank.

Tauranga oil spill

As oil starts washing up on the shores of Mount Maunganui residents head out to clear up the mess.

University of Southampton lecturer in oceanography Dr Simon Boxall told the Science Media Centre the chemicals used to disperse the oil were very toxic and had been banned by countries including Sweden.

Reports dispersants were only as toxic as dishwashing liquid were inaccurate, he said.

"Dishwashing liquid doesn't carry hazchem advice and you don't wear protective clothing and masks to do the washing up.

"In their raw form some dispersants can be very toxic and I believe will do more harm than good."

Mr Boxall said the oil leaked from the Rena should be left to break down naturally.

Containing the oil should be the first priority, followed by a comprehensive beach clean up operation, he said.

"At sea, nature will disperse and break the oil down very quickly, without use of chemicals."

Stormy weather striking the Rena could help the oil disperse naturally, Mr Boxall said.

FOR THE LATEST ON THE OIL SPILL CLICK HERE

Oil disaster in the Bay of PLenty - a major clusterfuck

With the Rena having developed stress fractures and quite likely to break up and with the latest news that there is a cap on the owner's insurance (making the cost of trying to clean up this mess fall on the government) - I can only concur with these comments by Ted  Howard of Nelson.

The first instances of illness in people who have been cleaning up have started to appear.

Hi folks

Yep, this is a major clusterfuck, has been from the beginning.

1. Combining peak oil and endgame disaster capitalism economics, the shipping companies have forced an economies of scale race into bigger, faster ships with as quick a turnaround as possible. Navigational shortcuts become inevitable, and potential for 'incidents' increase: get-the-fuck-out-of-our-way, and that includes well mapped reefs...!?

2. The NZ govt gave a lot of lip service to the availability of equipment and quick response teams for off-shore oil spills, in justifying the Petrobras off-shore oil exploration, south of where this ship went aground. Most of the opposition was pushed aside with assurances of professional operators with rigorous government checking. It has proved to be vaporware.

4. Volunteers are rallying to clean up oiled sea birds, some locals are out helping to clear beaches of any debris that oil could coat, but see that arrival now as inevitable. The govt has just announced that 2 important coastal wetlands are too hard to protect. Bullshit! They are choosing not to try.

5. Waiting for insurance company representatives, shipping company managers, salvage experts to get here, shows once again, that this is the last bus stop on the planet, and a lack of risk management leaves us very vulnerable.

6. Clean green 100% pure New Zealand? Yeah, right!

Corexit Is Killing The Gulf

I found these two videos made about a year ago after the Gulf of Mexico catastrophe on the dangers of Corexit.


It is extremely alarming to learn that Corexit is being used in New Zealand and touted as 'non-toxic'

Of course the scale of the two disasters are different, but it might be worthwhile revisiting the BP Gulf of Mexico disaster and ask what the possible consequences of deep-water drilling off the NZ coast might be.

BP Hazard: Oil slicks into blood, toxic waste ushers cancer