Oil giant OMV granted approval to discharge harmful substance off Otago coast

Tuesday, 17 September 2019

A security guard brokered a deal with protesters by agreeing to deliver a 30,000-strong petition to oil giant OMV. (Video first published on August 14, 2019)

Oil giant OMV has been granted a marine consent to discharge a harmful substance off the Otago coast.

That decision follows a three-day hearing in Dunedin in July, with submitters informed of the decision on Tuesday.

OMV applied to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a marine discharge consent in the Great South Basin, offshore of the wildlife rich Otago coast, prompting a three-day hearing in Dunedin last month.

Protesters gather outside at the Distinction Dunedin Hotel during an Environmental Protection Authority hearing was held last month.

The application was for the company to discharge trace amounts of an unnamed harmful substances from deck drains off a mobile offshore drilling unit.

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The decision was granted subject to conditions imposed by the decision-making committee appointed by the EPA, and would expire on 31 December 2030.

The hearing committee concluded any adverse effects, including cumulative effects, from the discharge of potentially harmful substances would be negligible. The potential for direct exposure of the discharge to humans was remote given the distance of the operations offshore with the closest well site - approximately 46 kilometres from shore.

The hearing included submissions from the company and environmentalists, and attracted a heavy security presence on the first day.

The Great Southern Basin is home to protected species including yellow-eyed penguins, albatross, southern right whales and New Zealand fur seals.

OMV's head of exploration development and production Hendrik Mosser said the oil and gas sectors provided about 5000 jobs in New Zealand, which contributed $1.5 billion in royalties over the past four years,

Under OMV's Great South Basin permit, the company is required to drill one exploration well before July 10, 2021.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced an end to any new offshore oil exploration permits in April 2018.

Last month Stuff revealed the total cost of the hearing was estimated to be just over $51,000 and included $3500 for security, $10,000 in decision-making committee fees, $5900 for a stenographer, and $7600 for audio visual services.

The company would pay all costs relevant to the application. Some costs were excluded, including staff attending the hearing for training purposes, and providing tikanga support for the hearing.