Friday, November 30, 2012

URGENT CALL TO ACTION:

We have just four days left to appeal Woodside's sneaky plans to avoid environmental assessment of the gas hub at James Price Point. Please make a submission to tell the government "No assessment? No way!"
We were shocked to discover on Wednesday that the West Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has secretively released a request from Woodside for its gas plant at James Price Point to be exempt from environmental assessment!

What's worse, the EPA allowed just seven days for public feedback on this request, so we must act quickly.
Use this online form to make a submission to the government insisting that Woodside play by the rules.
If Woodside's application is granted, the project will receive 'derived proposal' status and be allowed to bypass any environmental assessment – meaning the gas hub could be approved by the state government within weeks, before the Federal Environment Minister has even had a chance to consider whether or not to to approve the contentious Browse LNG Strategic Assessment.

This latest attempt to circumvent due process is typical of the collusion and cynicism that has plagued the Kimberley gas hub proposal from the very beginning. It's crucial that we show Woodside and the West Australian government that the Australian people won't stand for it.

ACT TODAY:

1.    Read this simple two-page summary as a guide to your submission. 

2.    Use this online form to make a submission to the EPA.
3.    Share this message via email, on Facebook, or using Twitter.
Thanks so much for your support at this critical time,
The Kimberley Team.

6 comments:

  1. Would just like to say using TWS guide it is very easy and takes only a few minutes.
    Well done Kimberley Team.

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  2. Shell VP: Yeah, we’re gonna spill some oil in the Arctic

    By Philip Bump

    Your quote of the day comes from the BBC.


    There’s no sugar-coating this, I imagine there would be spills, and no spill is OK. But will there be a spill large enough to impact people’s subsistence? My view is no, I don’t believe that would happen.

    That’s Shell’s Alaska vice president, Pete Slaiby, discussing the company’s new, fraught drilling operations off the North Slope of Alaska. During the summer, the company had a near-daily series of screw-ups that did little to inspire confidence in its ability to successfully extract oil from the ocean floor without spilling it all over themselves and the ocean and the animals in the ocean and probably you, too, somehow. So I’m not sure if Slaiby’s admission is a refreshing demonstration of realism or a heart-attack-inducing statement of indifference.

    The entire context for the BBC article is that Native populations in Alaska are nervous about the prospect of drilling and a spill.


    “We are the oldest continuous inhabitants of North America,” says Point Hope’s Mayor Steve Oomituk. “We’ve been here thousands of years.”

    Oomituk shares the fear of many in the small community — population 800 — that offshore drilling by Shell could destroy the food chain that they rely on for survival. Over 80% of the food eaten in Point Hope is caught by the people themselves. …

    “If an oil rig spilled and made a mess of the ocean, how am I ever going to eat a whale that’s not contaminated? Crude oil stays on the bottom of the ocean,” [local resident Patrick Jobstone] says.

    To which Shell responds, in essence: Don’t worry your pretty little heads.

    The brashness of the dismissal is ridiculous for several reasons. First, this is one of the most remote, unforgiving parts of the world. It took months to stop a spill 100 miles from one of the busiest regions in the United States during warm weather. How long would it take to get spill-response equipment and material in place off the Alaskan coast?

    And, second, Shell’s clownish failures over the summer included its inability to demonstrate that its containment system worked. Earlier today, details of that failure were released. From KUOW.org:


    Before Shell can drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean, it needs to prove to federal officials that it can clean up a massive oil spill there. That proof hinges on a barge being built in Bellingham, [Wash.,] called the Arctic Challenger. …

    According to [Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement] internal emails obtained by KUOW, the containment dome test was supposed to take about a day. That estimate proved to be wildly optimistic.
    Day 1: The Arctic Challenger’s massive steel dome comes unhooked from some of the winches used to maneuver it underwater. The crew has to recover it and repair it.
    Day 2: A remote-controlled submarine gets tangled in some anchor lines. It takes divers about 24 hours to rescue the submarine.
    Day 5: The test has its worst accident. On that dead-calm Friday night, Mark Fesmire, the head of BSEE’s Alaska office, is on board the Challenger. He’s watching the underwater video feed from the remote-control submarine when, a little after midnight, the video screen suddenly fills with bubbles. The 20-foot-tall containment dome then shoots to the surface. The massive white dome “breached like a whale,” Fesmire e-mails a colleague at BSEE headquarters.
    Then the dome sinks more than 120 feet. A safety buoy, basically a giant balloon, catches it before it hits bottom. About 12 hours later, the crew of the Challenger manages to get the dome back to the surface. “As bad as I thought,” Fesmire writes his BSEE colleague. “Basically the top half is crushed like a beer can.”

    But don’t worry, Native people. A spill will be nothing to worry about. Like Shell’s massive 2011 spill in the North Sea, labeled the worst spill in the region in a decade. No bigs.

    Here’s a thought, Shell/Slaiby. If “no spill is OK,” don’t fucking drill.

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  3. The Madness of King Col.

    Transport pledges top $8b

    Millions of dollars are being spent on planning major transport projects around WA, without any confirmation about how they will be funded or when they will be built.

    A search of recent State Government press releases, parliamentary speeches and news reports found more than $8 billion worth of projects have been announced or are being considered. There are almost certainly more.

    The latest came yesterday when Premier Colin Barnett unveiled a $500 million plan to ease road congestion in Perth's northern suburbs. It includes the extension of Mitchell Freeway to Hester Avenue in Clarkson.

    Many of the other $8 billion worth of projects are still on the drawing boards of public servants.

    Others are being considered by steering committees or working groups.

    And some have already involved extensive planning, costing millions of dollars over several years.

    They range from a $1.5 billion Fremantle outer harbour to the $50 million needed to shift Midland train station.

    The Government says it is all part of normal long-term transport planning, but the Opposition says it is a backlog caused by the Barnett Government's wrong priorities.

    Either way, with State debt exceeding $15 billion - and projected to peak at $23 billion in 2014-15 - funding the projects will be an enormous challenge.

    But Mr Barnett has already declared that transport projects will form the centrepiece of a re-elected Liberal-Nationals government's second-term agenda, admitting Perth's congestion problems had hit a tipping point.

    Mr Buswell said funding for yesterday's northern suburbs announcement would be listed in the mid-year review, due to be released this month, but he admitted the project would increase State debt.

    "Debt is an issue, but clearly over the next few years, in the short to medium term, State debt will continue to increase simply because we are investing in the infrastructure that a growing State and a transforming State requires," he said.

    As well as the Mitchell Freeway extension, the project includes improvements to the Reid Highway and Malaga Drive intersection and converting Reid Highway into dual carriageways from Duffy Road to Erindale Road in Carine.

    Government backbenchers and candidates have also been pushing other transport projects in recent weeks, with the State election only months away. For example, Jandakot MLA Joe Francis wants a freeway flyover at North Lake Road, Warnbro candidate Joel Marks wants a new train station at Paganoni Road and Nationals MP Mia Davies wants Great Eastern Highway upgraded between Walgoolan and Southern Cross.

    Shadow transport minister Ken Travers said the Barnett Government's wrong priorities had resulted in the massive backlog of transport projects that needed to be built.

    "We are now seeing the focus on expensive CBD monuments at the expense of infrastructure in the suburbs, resulting in an increase in congestion on our roads and trains," he said.

    "WA cannot afford these projects unless there is a change in the Government's priorities."
    Mr Travers said the Labor Party intended to develop a 20-year State infrastructure strategy to ensure that essential transport infrastructure across the suburbs got the priority it deserved.

    ..........................

    Well at least we now know why they want to dig up the Kimberley - and it has nothing at all to do with the wellbeing of Kimberley Kids.

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  4. MELBOURNE--Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd. Monday said it has struck a deal to buy a 30% stake in the Leviathan field offshore Israel, which is estimated to contain about 17 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, for an initial US$696 million upfront plus further payments that would be triggered in the future.

    The deal sets Woodside up to be the operator of any liquefied natural gas development of the field.

    The company said an agreement in principle has been signed with Leviathan venture partners Noble Energy Mediterranean Ltd., Delek Drilling LP , Avner Oil Exploration LP /quotes/zigman/139426/quotes/nls/avogf AVOGF +0.83% ) and Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) LP to buy an interest in the two petroleum licenses that contain the field.

    Noble Energy, which targets initial production to the domestic gas market in 2016, will remain the main operator.

    "We have a proven track record of safe and reliable operations in Australia and being selected as the Leviathan joint venture's preferred partner in a competitive bidding process demonstrates the value of our LNG development capabilities," said Peter Coleman, chief executive of Woodside.

    The company said the agreement involves the initial payment, with staged payments of US$200 million once laws permitting LNG exports from Israel are in force and US$350 million on a final investment decision relating to an LNG development. Woodside also faces potential annual LNG payments equal to 11.5% of its revenue above an agreed escalating price threshold but capped at US$1 billion, and up to US$50 million relating to costs associated with the drilling of a deep water exploration well for late 2013.

    The deal is subject to a number of conditions, including the completion of due diligence and necessary government and regulatory approvals. If it goes ahead, Noble Energy's interest in the Leviathan venture will fall to 30% from 39.66%, Delek and Avner will each own 15%, down from 22.67% currently, and Ratio's interest will drop to 10% from 15%.

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    Replies
    1. Palestine recently held unprecedented talks with Israel over developing the Gaza Marine gas field, a move that could end a decade old dispute. Offshore-technology rounds up the gas projects rooted in the oft disputed East Mediterranean waters.
      ..
      The Palestinian Authority (PA) recently announced it has conducted negotiations with Israel regarding the development of the Gaza Marine gas field - an area in the east Mediterranean Sea, which the two nations have been arguing about for a decade.

      The renewed negotiations were announced in a report prepared for donors to the PA in New York on 23 September. It stated the two nations talked about developing the gas field and that Israel is prepared to engage in a 'meaningful discussion' with Palestine over the development.

      The Gaza Marine gas dispute started in 1999 after then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak allowed exploration of the area without informing Israel. In 1999 the PA granted British Gas and the Consolidated Contractors Company with exploration rights. However, Israel contested this and development has mostly been on hold ever since.

      Now Palestine hopes the development of the gas field could significantly contribute to its financial independence.

      No more information was given regarding the outcome of the talks and it remains to be seen if the two countries, who have been fighting over the same land for 45 years, can reach an agreement.

      The development is further complicated by confusion over leadership in Palestine. Israel, for a start, refuses to negotiate with Hamas, who currently occupy the Gaza Strip. Despite Hamas ruling the area, the Palestinian Authority - whose authority extends to the West Bank alone - along with peace adviser Tony Blair who initiated the talks, hope to have control of the marine area and levy its own fees and taxes.

      Meanwhile Israel continues to aggressively pursue oil exploration in the eastern Mediterranean Sea area, which is regularly subjected to maritime border disputes between neighbouring countries Lebanon, Cyprus, Turkey and Palestine. As the outcome of the PA-Israeli talks unfolds, Offshore-technology.com takes a look at the eastern Mediterranean Sea and what projects already reside there.

      ..

      The Tamar field is a natural gas discovery made by Noble Energy in January 2009 and is the company's largest find to date.
      ..
      Leviathan natural gas field, located in the eastern Mediterranean Sea area, off the coast of Israel, was discovered in December 2010 and is Israel's biggest find to date. The discovery is situated in 1,645m of water in the Levantine basin, located approximately 130km west of Haifa, Israel, and holds about 30 trillion cubic feet of gas.

      At the time of discovery, the Leviathan gas field was the most prominent field ever found in the sub-explored area of the Levantine basin, which covers about 83,000 square kilometres of the eastern Mediterranean region.
      ..
      The Sequoia subsea development is located 130km north-east of Alexandria in the Mediterranean Sea and lies in water depths ranging from 70m to 570m, across the boundary of the West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM) and Rosetta concessions, which were awarded in 1995.
      ..
      The Scarab and Saffron gas fields represent the first deepwater development to be undertaken in the eastern Mediterranean Sea area. They lie in the West Delta Deep Marine concession and are the largest gas field development in Egypt. The field is owned by the Burullus Gas Company consortium.
      ..
      The West El Burullus concession is a natural gas deposit located in the Nile Delta, Mediterranean Sea, offshore of Egypt.
      ..
      The Shah Deniz oil field lies between Mobil's Oquz, Chevron's Asheron and Exxon's Nakhchiuan fields. Its name is translated as 'King's Sea'
      ..
      The Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) field lies 120km off the coast of Azerbaijan in 120m of water and contains 5.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil.

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  5. I quite like looking through an article that will make people think.
    Also, thank you for allowing me to comment

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