PAJ Symposium
Maintaining future effective preparedness
against oil spills
An Australian Oil Spill Response
Organisation perspective

Scope• discuss the Australian setting• discuss shaping factors around preparedness
and response to oil spills in Australia

The sector

Regulators
Response Organisations

Industry Associations

StatesIndustry;
Oil & Gas
Shipping

Operating environment• Petroleum exploration and production:▫ Static well drilling activity in WA in 2016
▫ Increasing exploration activity from 2017 onwards [depending on per/bbl price]▫ Commencing well drilling activity in Great Australian Bight in 2016
▫ Increasing LNG development in WA (including floating LNG production) from 2017
▫ Consolidation of Regulatory requirements for E&P▫ Risk change from Crude production into gas/condensate▫ Continued Federal Government streamlining of regulatory processes aroundenvironmental approvals▫ Increasing number of ‘smaller’ operators and potential Associate members forAMOSC• Refining:▫ 4 Australian refineries [Geelong, Altona, Lytton, Kwinana] through to 2019

Operating Environment cont’dShipping:▫ Increasing shuttle tanker activity▫ Increasing product shipments into North Australian ports▫ Greater terminal activity and increased product shipments▫ Move from HFO to IFO180CSt & higher distillate fuels forbunkers from 2016
▫ ‘Freeloaders’ in the shipping sector on the industry spill
response network▫ Decreasing State assistance & motivation for spill
preparedness & response activities▫ Increased risk for shipping based incidents requiring
industry assistance▫ Establishment of Emission Control Areas (ECA) or
equivalent around the Australian coastResponse Continuum

AMOC(courtesy Maritime NZ)

So what?
• ‘Status Quo’ demand on AMOSC support for 2016
• Increasing support to downstream for spill response
advice following staffing cuts in Member companies• Increasing support for mutual aid and member
equipment maintenance/storage support [new regulatory
push into equipment/resources testing arrangements]• New areas of development including: potential new cost sharing initiatives
 increased number of response contracts similar to Trajectory
Modelling & Aerial Dispersant• Once bbl prices increase, AMOSC predicts there will be anincrease sought by E&P companies for training, advice &planning

Net Effects on preparedness• Mutual aid becoming very important▫ AMOSC coordinates its Core Group of 120 company
personnel• Joint exercising to save redundancy and individual
exercising• Potential for de-investment by upstream intopreparedness due to lack of exploration activities▫ Less emphasis on subsea issues?

• Continuing investment (not increasing) bydownstream sector

Tiered preparedness & response (JIPTPG)

But; Risk factors remain …..

3 point strategy to uphold preparedness• Mutual aid• Retain focus on Regulatory change• Retain focus on upstream and downstreamneedsMutual aid/shared funding• Joint Exercising• Shared funding models; Aerial Dispersantcontracts, Trajectory modelling, scientificmonitering, centrally held response call-offcontracts (by OSRO)• Data sharing

Retaining focus• Uprating the education aspects of spill
preparedness and response (Joint Industry
Project information dissemination)• Act as the petroleum industry ‘eyes, ears andadvisers’ on all aspects of spill response• maintain focus on integrated response• high intensity around operational discipline
during response