Seabed assessments gather detailed information on the bathymetry, seabed features and shallow geology at potential well locations, as well as between the well locations and existing drilling platforms.

They are carried out to determine suitable seabed locations for drilling operations and installation of infrastructure to connect new production wells to the existing pipeline.

The assessments are conducted using geotechnical and geophysical activities.

The geophysical survey is required to obtain detailed bathymetry measurements and detect hazards on or below the seabed.

The geotechnical survey is required to collect detailed information on the properties of the seabed and the underlying shallow sediments to build a picture of the local geology of the area and support geophysical data collected.

This information will be used to determine future drilling and infrastructure opportunities for the OGV Project.

The seabed assessments will take place in Commonwealth waters of the Otway and Bass basins.

The Otway development area is approximately:

• 7km from the Victorian coastline,
• 52km from the King Island coastline, and
• 168km from the Tasmanian coastline.

The Bass development area is approximately:

• 82km from the Victorian coastline,
• 89km from the King Island coastline, and
• 39km from the Tasmanian coastline.

The assessments will cover a 3048km2 activity operational area in the Otway Basin and 2374km2 activity operational area in the Bass Basin. Coordinates of the seabed assessment area are provided in the maps below.

Subject to all required approvals, from early 2024, there will be several activities in offshore Commonwealth waters south of Port Campbell and in Bass Strait in existing production and exploration licenses held by Beach.

Activities will involve different phases including seabed assessments (non-seismic), removing suspended wells, as well as drilling and connecting new wells to existing pipelines.

The OGV Project will require Environment Plans to be accepted by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) before commencement of activities.

Environment Plans must include a description of the existing environment and the proposed activities, an evaluation of the impacts and risks, environmental performance outcomes and controls, implementation strategy, and reporting requirements.

Consultation and feedback with anyone whose functions, interests or activities may be affected by the project activities is an important part of developing Environment Plans.

View NOPSEMA's 'Consultation in the course of preparing an environment plan.'

Consultation and feedback are an important part of developing Environment Plans. Beach seeks to consult with anyone whose functions, interests or activities may be affected by the activities to be carried out under the Environment Plan.

As a local operator in Victoria, Beach has conducted transparent and respectful consultations with Commercial Fishers, First Nations groups, local communities, and other people whose functions, interests or activities may be affected by the project for many years.

Please contact us if you would like further information or to consult with us about how this project may impact your functions, interests or activities. Beach will consider all feedback, including any concerns or objections and will explore measures to reduce any impacts and risks.

People may request that the information they provide not be published in the Environment Plan.

If there is someone you believe may be affected by the proposed activities, please ask them to contact us.

When conducting any offshore activity, there is an extremely unlikely risk of release of hydrocarbon from a well during drilling (which is primarily gas) or from marine vessel fuel in the event of an accident.

Beach standard operating procedures include emergency response plans which are included in Environment Plans. Preparing emergency response plans involves modelling of all possible hydrocarbon releases in the local area using a worst-case scenario, assuming no control measures are in place. The modelling calculates the transport, spreading, entrainment and evaporation over time, using data on the prevailing metocean conditions (wind, wave, and climate), the volume released, and the physical and chemical properties of the hydrocarbons.

The modelling determines the full extent of the “Environment that may be affected” known as the EMBA. Environment plans must describe the EMBA and include an assessment of the likelihood and consequences of any hydrocarbon release which must be reduced to ALARP through a range of control measures and include detailed response plans.

An emergency response plan describes the arrangements that must be in place for responding to and monitoring any release of hydrocarbon and include:

• 24/7 on-call team for rapid response clean-up actions including mobilisation of personnel and equipment.
• 24/7 on-call team for modelling and monitoring of a hydrocarbon release to inform response activities, and monitoring of effectiveness of response activities.
• Control measures necessary for ensuring rapid response and maintenance of capabilities (personnel and equipment).

These arrangements are based on the worse case event associated with the proposed activities to ensure that Beach has the appropriate level of response arrangements and capability. Beach maintains a current contract with Australian Marine Oil Spill Centre (AMOSC) based in Geelong for access to spill response resources and personnel. In Victoria, the Department of Transport is the control agency for marine pollution emergencies.

For more information on hydrocarbon release modelling and why it is required for the preparation of environment plans, click here to watch a video on the NOPSEMA website.