David Braithwaite
The regulator overseeing the offshore oil and methane gas industry in Australia says there is, or may be, a “significant threat to the environment” in Bass Strait, after 21,000 litres of diesel leaked from an oil and methane gas platform.
It’s the third leak from a site owned by Esso in six months.
The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) said in an order Esso Australia Resources had “contravened a provision of an environmental management law and is likely to contravene that provision again” and “there is, or may be, a significant threat to the environment”.
The company was seen as failing to rectify known defects on one of its platforms which resulted in the spill.
On August 7, Esso began transferring diesel from a main storage tank on the Marlin B platform to a firewater pump diesel day tank by opening a manual valve connecting it to the main tank.
The next day, the Esso operator found the tank valve was still in the open position and closed it. Esso personnel later observed an oil sheen as the north side of Marlin B.
During an inspection, NOPSEMA observed Esso had failed to rectify known defects in the “environmentally critical system” which resulted in overfilling of a diesel storage tank and about 21,000 litres of diesel being directed to the open pile.
The failure of the control systems in place to prevent overfill of the firewater pump diesel storage tank and for controlling the level of hydrocarbons held in the open pile, NOPSEMA found, resulted in hydrocarbons being released into the environment.
“As a result, these operations did not comply with the environment plan as there was a spill to the environment,” NOPSEMA stated in an environment improvement notice.
NOPSEMA ruled Esso was likely to contravene environment regulations again because “the failures identified with the diesel system and open pile equipment have not been addressed”, “the open pile was not inspected in a timely manner” and “the implementation of the maintenance and testing plan for the open pile equipment has not ensured that this equipment remains in full operational order”.
Esso has been given 60 days to address the issues raised in the notice, including repairing or reinstating the float valve in the firewater pump storage tank and identifying an alternative supplier to replace the obsolete model of the second pump pile.
An Esso spokesperson said the company prided itself on operating its offshore platforms in a safe and environmentally responsible manner, which it had done for more than 50 years.
“During routine observations at the Marlin B gas production facility, it was identified that equipment failure had caused overfilling of a diesel storage tank. The released diesel was largely contained within our facilities, however, there was a very minor release of diesel,” the spokesperson said.
“There were no observed impacts to the environment and the sheen dissipated quickly.
“We have moved quickly to assess the repairs required and are already executing changes which will ensure this does not happen again, as well as addressing NOPSEMA’s concerns.”
Friends of the Earth offshore fossil gas campaigner Jeff Waters said Esso repeatedly displayed a lack of respect for the Australian people and the environment.
“They knew about these defects and did nothing about it, hoping to save a few more dollars at the expense of the marine environment,” he said.
