Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Irreversible Erosional Environmental Damage at James Price Point

According to Woodside’s Environmental Management Plan for James Price Point they state:
• Areas adjoining soil stockpiles shall be protected from degradation by the implementation of erosion (and sediment) control measures. Monitoring for erosion and erosion risk will be undertaken regularly to ensure that any erosion that does occur is promptly mitigated.

The reasons why the Monsoonal Vine Thicket (Remnant Rainforest) between James Price Point and Quondong is the largest and most diverse on the Dampier Peninsular is because when it rains the water naturally flows toward the sea, replenishing the forest, the shallow Walla Aquifer and all the native wells found along the base of the Holocene sand dune system.

What Woodside have effectively created with all their grid land clearing works last year is sizeable water courses that flow directly down every one of the grid lines from east to west, causing major irreversible erosional environmental damage. Soil nutrients are being leached from the soil and carried along the Woodside’s water courses, pooling in volume. Once these pools have dried out, these very precious nutrients are blown away in the wind along with volumes of top soil, from the cleared gridded land.



What this clearly illustrates is the fact the pindan soil is very difficult to manage and maintain. Once pindan becomes wet is becomes quite greasy and highly mobile.
The following video illustrates one of these water courses on the east side of Woodside’s compound flowing freely to the west, right through the Woodside’s compound, through their environmental brush down area (use to stop the spread of weeds!) spilling out of the compound on the northern side directly into the bush. It continues to flow out onto the Woodside main western access track, off Manari road and pooling, spilling into the bush of both sides of this track.

The footings of the perimeter fence are also being undermined and washed out. If Woodside do not have the ability to manage a small Lay Down Area (industrial block), or the capacity to control erosion issues and make no effort to control the spread of invasive weeds how in hell are they intending to manage the proposed world’s second largest LNG refineries, at James Price Point.

Our pindan country does not have the ability to hold up or withstand a massive industrial complex being slapped on top of it. There is no ground stability or solid bed rock into which to anchor such a development.

4 comments:

  1. Woodside shares have been going down again lately even when the market has been rising,oil price is up,so what's going on?
    Has there been a snag at Pluto?
    Some people have inside info perhaps?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Don't laugh - and please don't cry.

    "Mr Coleman grew up in regional Victoria and, asked about farmers joining the Lock the Gate movement, said: ''I understand very well the affinity they have with the land, so that's pretty apparent that people have concerns, and that's based on that long-term affinity with the land."

    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/boom-is-getting-ahead-of-itself-says-woodside-chief-20120316-1vahd.html#ixzz1pKHo0htZ

    ReplyDelete
  3. "In documents submitted to the federal Environment Department this month, Hess has asked for approval to sell its gas from 2018 to either Chevron's Wheatstone project, Woodside Petroleum's Pluto project or the Woodside-operated North West Shelf.

    Industry speculation in Perth is touting a tie-up with Pluto, rather than Wheatstone. And with Hess having stepped up its hiring recently, some say the definite impression is being given that a preferred option has been chosen."
    .....and....

    "Given that it usually takes four or five years to move from the investment decision to first (scheduled) LNG for a plant, that implies a final investment decision on either a Pluto expansion or Wheatstone expansion next year."

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/us-oil-firm-hess-keeps-options-open-on-offshore-equus-gasfield-in-wa/story-e6frg9ef-1226303267019

    ReplyDelete
  4. FLNG takes off.
    Inpex buys into Shell Prelude FLNG.

    for the development, who is a world leader in LNG business and, in particular, of large scale offshore gas development activities. Participating in the Prelude FLNG Project will enhance INPEX’s FLNG experience, and will help in timely delivery of the Abadi LNG project. It will also contribute to promote wider collaborative relationship between INPEX and Shell including the Prelude FLNG Project and the Abadi LNG Project.
    INPEX has been participating in several natural gas development and production projects, including LNG projects, throughout the world. For instance, INPEX operated the large-scale Ichthys LNG Project in Australia, for which INPEX made the Final Investment Decision in January 2012, and in addition to this, INPEX participates in, Offshore Mahakam (Indonesia), Bayu-Undan (JPDA), Tangguh LNG Project (Indonesia), Canadian Shale Gas Projects etc. Participating in the Prelude FLNG Project will enhance INPEX’s natural gas (LNG) business, which leads to meeting growing demand of natural gas, an environmentally friendly fuel while optimizing INPEX’s overall asset portfolio.

    source : A Barrel Full

    ReplyDelete