2021 State of the Environment Report Marine Chapter – Expert Assessment – Pressure – Minerals, oil and gas extraction and production

The Marine chapter of the 2021 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "Pressures on the marine environment - minerals, oil and gas extraction and production". 
<strong><em>A PDF of the full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided) is downloadable in the "On-line Resources" section of this record as "EXPERT ASSESSMENT 2021 - Minerals, oil and gas extraction and production"</em></strong>



DESCRIPTION OF PRESSURE
Mineral (a naturally occurring substance or naturally occurring mixture of substances other than oil and gas), oil and gas extraction and production activities include those associated with geophysical surveys of sub bottom strata, exploratory and development drilling, blasting and dredging of materials, pipeline and facility construction, offshore oil and gas production facilities and oil rig decommissioning. Pressures associated with oil and gas extraction and production occur predominantly in offshore waters with activity concentrated in the North-west and South-east marine bioregions (Figure 1). Those associated with mineral extraction are limited to nearshore regions with activities similar to those reported in SoE 2016: shell sand mining operation in Cockburn Sound (Western Australia), iron ore mining at Cockatoo and Koolan Islands (Western Australia), sand mining in Moreton Bay (Queensland) and exploration for tin in Ringarooma Bay (Tasmania; NT EPA 2020). Some offshore oil and gas production facilities are connected to onshore processing and so cross state jurisdictions either via seabed pipelines or via subsurface wells drilled from onshore (VEAC 2019).

DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT
Oil and gas exploration, drilling, wells, and facilities were extracted from the National Offshore Petroleum Information Management System database (https://nopims.dmp.wa.gov.au/nopims) and records held by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA). Information on activities in state and territory waters were extracted from state and territory databases and/or provided by relevant state and territory departments (see below). 
See also relevant publications for key statistics and data associated with hydrocarbon production data. 



2021 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details]

• 2021 •
Assessment grade: Low impact
Assessment trend: Improving
Confidence grade: Adequate high quality evidence or high level of consensus 
Confidence trend: Adequate high quality evidence or high level of consensus 
Comparability: Somewhat comparable
• 2016 •
Assessment grade: Low impact
Assessment trend: Improving
Confidence grade: Adequate high quality evidence and high level of consensus
Confidence trend: Adequate high quality evidence and high level of consensus
Comparability: Grade and trend are somewhat comparable to the 2011 assessment
• 2011 •
Assessment grade: Very good
Assessment trend: Stable
Confidence grade: Limited evidence or limited consensus
Confidence trend: Limited evidence or limited consensus



CHANGES SINCE 2016 SOE ASSESSMENT
Pressures associated with mining activities were reported separately in the 2016 SoE assessment.

Tags: anthropogenic pressures, expert assessment, oil and gas, petroleum
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network