Survey for oil likely to attract protesters
"The sound dissipates rapidly in the water.'' Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand chief executive Cameron Madgwick
Greenpeace have called on the Government to stop an oil exploration survey about to start in the South Taranaki Basin.
Seismic survey vessel the Amazon Warrior is heading towards the area to undertake three months of survey work next month on behalf of Austrian oil exploration company, OMV.
Greenpeace climate campaigner Kate Simcock said the Government could still reject the oil exploration application.
‘‘Jacinda Ardern says climate change is her generation’s nuclear free moment.
‘‘We’d like to see the prime minister back up her bold words with strong action.’’
Simcock would not reveal how Greenpeace planned to protest the arrival of the Amazon Warrior but said the ship’s owners should prepare for public resistance when it entered New Zealand waters.
Last summer the ship was forced to temporarily halt seismic surveying off the Wairarapa coast when Greenpeace protesters, including executive director Russel Norman, jumped into the sea in front of the ship.
Norman has pleaded not guilty to charges related to the incident and is due back in court in April.
A spokesman for Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods said the application was an operational matter.
Woods had regular briefings and was monitoring the situation closely, and had sought detailed advice on all aspects of the permit application to ensure all the implications were looked at, the spokesman said.
Under existing regulations and legislation officials would consider a number of criteria before making a decision on allowing the permit.
The criteria included whether the proposed work programme would affect the permit area, and if the applicant had the technical and financial capability to conduct the proposed work at the required standard.
The criteria also included if the applicant had a good compliance record, both in New Zealand and overseas, and if iwi had been appropriately consulted on the area and proposed activities of the applications, the spokesman said.
Port Taranaki said the ship would not berth in New Plymouth during the survey.
Like a nail gun
United States-based marine ecologist Dr Leigh Torres said she had recorded underwater seismic blasting in the South Taranaki Bight which drowned out the calls of a blue whale.
Torres said the blasting was similar to ‘‘a nail gun going off in your kitchen every eight seconds for months on end’’.
Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand chief executive Cameron Madgwick said the surveys had been happening around New Zealand ‘‘for decades’’.
‘‘Overall they have very minimal effects on the environment and like all activity in our industry, they are closely regulated and monitored,’’ he said.
The Department of Conservation had a detailed code of conduct for minimising acoustic disturbance to marine mammals which was strictly followed, he said.
‘‘As part of this, operators have to verify the emitted sound levels are compliant with thresholds in the code before they even begin work.
‘‘All survey vessels use monitoring systems and independent visual observers, and operations are stopped immediately if any mammals enter the set mitigation zones.
‘‘The sound dissipates rapidly in the water – at 1 kilometre from the source the sound levels have generally dropped below 171 decibels, which is lower than the noise from large commercial shipping vessels.’’