DON’T GRAB OIL AND GAS AT THE EXPENSE OF SEA LIFE
IN APRIL 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil-drilling rig killed 11 crew and ignited a fireball that was visible 64km away. The fire could not be extinguished and the rig sank two days later, causing the largest oil spill in US waters.
In the wake of that, awareness of the dangers of drilling into the ocean floor to extract oil has intensified. But what many don’t realise is that exploring the seabed for oil or gas can put underwater ecosystems at risk through the process of seismic testing.
Maritime Review Africa reported on September 6 that Petrosa and Rosgeo, Russia’s geological exploration company, signed an agreement at the ninth annual Brics summit to explore off the coast of South Africa.
Petrosa said Rosgeo would carry out more than 4 000km2 of 3D seismic operations and 13 000km of gravity-magnetic exploration works, as well as drill exploratory wells. About $400 million would be invested in the project.
While the economic benefits to the country are laudable, at what expense will this be to our marine environment?
At the Maritime Law Association conference (September 1-3), Dr Jennifer Olbers of KZN Wildlife’s scientific services gave a presentation on the effect of seismic testing on marine life. Seismic testing is used to map the ocean floor and determine where to drill for oil and gas. It involves airguns sending compressed air streams or focused sonic waves towards the ocean floor to gauge the depth, location and structure of resources.
The Oceana website reports that blasts from seismic air-guns, towed behind ships, are repeated every 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, for days or even weeks at a time.
Sound travels more easily under water than through the air – doubling the noise level, according to an article in the Canadian Journal of Zoology – and the noise from a single seismic survey can travel tens of thousands of square kilometres.
Such surveys disturb the communication, navigation and eating habits of marine wildlife. The sonic waves can damage fish with air bladders, destroy eggs and larvae.
The impact can be catastrophic. Seals have displayed dramatic avoidance behaviour, ceasing feeding and even getting out of the ocean. Turtles have shown reduced hearing sensitivity up to 1km from the blasts. There have been damage to fish ears at distances of several kilometres. Catch rates in the North Atlantic have fallen 40-80%.
Zooplankton, essential to the health of global marine ecosystems, suffered significant mortality with the impact observed up to 1.2km from blast sites.
Results include temporary and permanent hearing loss, abandonment of habitat, disruption of mating and feeding, beach stranding and death. For whales and dolphins, which rely on their hearing to find food, communicate and reproduce, being able to hear is a lifeor-death matter. Whales simply stop “talking” to each other.
The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 says the state is obliged to protect the environment for the benefit of present and future generations, to ensure ecologically sustainable development of mineral and petroleum resources and to promote economic and social development.
On their website, Petrosa recognises the potential environmental impact that accompanies seismic surveys and states no exploration can take place without the necessary permits – which requires an environmental management programme. An EMP require full consultation with concerned parties and a comprehensive assessment of the environmental impact of the proposed activity.
Mitigating factors include: trained marine mammal observers must be on board exploration vessels and have to scan an area for at least 30 minutes to determine if any mammals are nearby. A soft-start procedure is then used for at least 20 minutes to allow marine mammals to move away.
The Department of Environmental Affairs says Operation Phakisa represents a new spirit of moving faster to meet the government’s targets – with the starting point that South Africa was surrounded by a vast ocean with untapped resources and the ocean had the potential to contribute up to R177 billion to gross domestic product and create more than a million jobs by 2033.
That said, the value of preserving our marine life for generations to come is equally important and our government would be failing in its duty if it did not adhere strictly to the environmental stipulations as legislated.