Gorgon Project

in
Client: 
West Australian Petroleum (WAPET) | Chevron Exxon and Shell
Locations: 
RPS services: 
Audits and Reviews
Emergency Preparedness
Engineering - Safety and Risk
Environmental Impact Assessment
HSE, Risk Management & Training
Project and Operations Management and Support
Quality, Health, Safety and Environment
Risk Management Studies
Safety Cases/Safety Reports
Supportive Software
Terrestrial & Marine Ecology
Training

The Gorgon Gas Development involves the drilling and completion of wells, subsea infrastructure, a feed gas pipeline to a multi-train (>15 million tonne per annum) LNG plant on Barrow Island, a domgas plant, port facilities, a domestic gas pipeline to mainland Australia, camp facilities and extensive support facilities and utilities.

Barrow Island is an A-Class nature reserve and the proposed industrial development received unprecedented scrutiny from government and environmental non-government organisations (ENGOs). The environmental approvals process involved a number of phases, including strategic assessment (Environmental and Social and Economic (ESE) review), formal environmental assessment under State and Commonwealth legislation (EIS/ERMP), assessment of project amendments via Public Environmental Review (PER) as well as numerous administrative (e.g. Section 45C EP Act) and regulatory (EPBC Act, OPGGS Act) assessment and approval processes.

RPS has provided environmental support throughout the planning and all phases of the approvals process for the Development, via both external consulting services and the provision of seconded personnel. RPS’ involvement encompassed preparation of environmental strategies, negotiation of the approval process and schedule with State and Commonwealth environmental agencies, coordination and implementation of specialist studies, management of budgets, contracts and schedules, input to design and operation, preparation of the initial EIS/ERMP and the revised proposal’s PER documentation, coordination and leading of the stakeholder engagement programs, preparation of responses to comments, input to the appeal process and condition-setting.

Reflecting the complexity of the approvals process, RPS placed senior personnel in-house to form the environmental, safety and external affairs teams. The RPS in-house team managed and coordinated the environmental approval process. At peak, there were thirteen seconded RPS personnel successfully operating as environmental approvals coordinators, environmental advisors, ecological study project managers, external affairs coordinators, risk and project HES advisors and quarantine advisors, forming the backbone of Chevron’s environmental and external affairs program.

Through external consulting services, RPS completed the EIA and preparation of draft impact and management chapters of the ESE and EIS/ERMP documents, including coordination of all of the ecological studies undertaken in support of the ESE and EIS/ERMP and preparation of related technical reports.

In addition to coordinating the input of specialist technical consultants, RPS also directly undertook the majority of the key marine elements of the EIS/ERMP, including:

  • Studies to characterise the benthic habitats of the offshore field and pipeline routes
  • Studies to characterise nearshore benthic habitats of the project areas included coral, seagrass, macroalgae, benthic invertebrates and demersal fish
  • Water and sediment quality studies
  • Marine habitats mapping.

RPS provided specific expertise into the assessment and development of management for the key marine issues related to the Gorgon Development, including:

  • Impacts to benthic primary producer habitat from sedimentation associated with dredging – including coordination of dispersion modelling and interpretation of outputs, development of adaptive management strategies and plans, presentations to expert panels and regulatory agencies
  • Discharges to the marine environment – particularly waste water discharges associated with the LNG plant, and including interpretation of modelling outputs and development of management strategies and plans
  • Marine quarantine – including the development of the quarantine management system, negotiation with expert panels and regulatory agencies, marine pest baseline studies and provision of quarantine advisors.

RPS provided support to the construction phase of the project, including:

  • The preparation of management plans to meet Ministerial Conditions of Approval for offshore drilling
  • Monitoring of impacts during dredging operations, through an intensive field monitoring and reporting program
  • Marine quarantine vessel inspection studies
  • Quarantine effectiveness studies
  • Seabird monitoring studies
  • Design of post-dredging marine surveys to meet Ministerial Conditions of Approval.