An article in the New Zealand Herald discusses presentations at the 2014 New Zealand Petroleum Summit. One presenter, James Willis, criticized current regulation of oil and gas seismic. According to the Herald article, Mr. Willis “said rules were becoming increasingly inflexible despite the Government’s aim of attracting more players to New Zealand….’Nobody denies that we need regulation, but in proportion. I think there has been a lack of proportion in the nature and extent of EPA examination…’”
Mr. Willis explained that “Rules brought in during the past four years meant anyone conducting a seismic survey now had to notify the Department of Conservation at least three months ahead of the survey, lodge a marine mammal impact assessment and station a marine mammal observer on board the vessel, which had to have acoustic monitoring equipment. If a whale was sighted the survey had to stop.
‘The requirement to have such a [marine mammal assessment] report must be a fantastic boon for environmental consultants.’”
Click here to read Herald article.
