Slide 1: Block 11B/12B ESIA – Marine Ecology and Fisheries
Block 11B/12B ESIA – Marine Ecology and Fisheries Go to slide master to update this footer THEMED FOCUS GROUP MEETING 17 October 2023 Amy Wright & Barry Clark Anchor Environmental Consultants (Pty) Ltd 1
Slide 2: Topics
TOPICS - Study overview, data sources and legislation - Key baseline results - Key impacts and mitigation Go to slide master to update this footer - Key recommendations - Discussion 2
Slide 3: Study overview
Study overview - Marine Impact Assessment of proposed project activities across the lifespan of the project on the coastal and offshore marine environment of the South Coast - Ecological impacts and impacts on ecosystem services and resources (fishing) under normal and unforeseen operating condition
Slide 4: Data sources
Data sources - Existing literature on benthic habitats and biodiversity i.e., Sink et al. (2010), Atkinson (2010), Shipton & Atkinson (2010), Quick & Sink (2005), Sink et al. (2021), Purdon et al. 2020 etc. - Preliminary benthic infaunal and epifaunal results of the 2022 in situ Environmental Baseli
Slide 5: Legislation
Legislation - South African legislation (inter alia): 1. National Environmental Management Act (No. 107 of 1998) (NEMA) 2. Integrated Coastal Management Act 24 of 2008 (ICMA) 3. Marine Living Resources Act 18 of 1998 (AS AMENDED) 4. Protected Areas Act 57 of 2003 5. Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004 6. Ma
Slide 6: Key baseline results
Key baseline results - Existing data and in situ surveys show high diversity of benthic epifauna (animals that are attached and live on hard substrate/above the sediment) and mobile biota diversity across Block 11B/12B and within pipeline routing options - ROV surveys (BSL 2023) showed potential Vul
Slide 7: Key requirements – baseline
KEY REQUIREMENTS – baseline Go to slide master to update this footer Dawson et al. (2023), in BSL (2023). Spatial variation in epifaunal sensitivity within Block 11B/12B with weighted contributions from the total 7 number of taxa, number of VMEI taxa and number of fossils
Slide 8: Key baseline results
Key baseline results - Avifauna community includes species that breed along the coast (including the IUCN listed Endangered African penguin and Cape gannet), migratory species that visit the coast to overwinter, breed and feed (like the Damara tern), and rare vagrants. - NB breeding colonies in Algo
Slide 9: Key baseline results
Key baseline results - Loggerhead and leatherback are the turtle species most likely to be encountered in Block 11B/12B - Cetaceans (occurrence probability data and MMO records): common Most Long-finned pilot and humpback whales (higher probability of occurrence in summer ) Southern right whales (es
Slide 10: Key baseline results
Key baseline results - Large migratory pelagic fish species most likely to occur offshore, and in Block 11B/12B include various tunas, billfish and sharks Go to slide master to update this footer 10
Slide 11: Key baseline results
Key baseline results - Assessed ten Large pelagic longline Squid jig 11B 12B overlap – 38.6% 11B 12B overlap – 2.4% sectors using summarized data for 2010 -2019 - Key sectors overlap - Other sectors had no spatial overlap with the 11B/12B Go to slide master to update this footer Offshore demersal tr
Slide 12: Key baseline results
Key baseline results - Limited overlap between small-scale fishers that operate mostly close to the shore with the Application Area. - Some overlap between the area of operation of small-scale rights holders that operate further from shore (mostly linefish and squid resources) - No perceived overlap
Slide 13: Key baseline results: South Coast estuaries
Key baseline results Go to slide master to update this footer 13 South Coast estuaries
Slide 14: Key baseline results
Key baseline results - Marine Protected Areas (offshore and coastal) Tsitsikamma MPA - Ecologically or Goukamma MPA Robberg MPA Port Elizabeth Biologically Significant Corals MPA De Hoop MPA Marine Areas (EBSAs) - Critical Biodiversity Area (CBA): CBA Natural (“Biodiversity Go to slide master to upd
Slide 15: Key baseline results
Key baseline results Development of subsea oil and gas pipelines non-compatible within the CBA Natural and CBA Restore areas. The impact is unavoidable - all routing options from the western Project Development Area to the existing F-A gas platform pass through a CBA area. Provision made that, shoul
Slide 16: Key impacts under normal operating conditions
Key impacts under normal operating conditions Loss of benthic habitat and disturbance/mortality of epifauna within CBA Natural/ Biodiversity Conservation Areas Intensity Extent Duration Magnitude Sensitivity Significance Status Confidence Without mitigation High Local Permanent High High HIGH - ‘ve
Slide 17: Key impacts under normal operating conditions
Key impacts under normal operating conditions Drilling discharges Discharge 4, upper water column, winter Discharge 5, upper water column, spring Maximum cumulative risk for full simulation for winter (4) and spring (5) – modelled Western discharges impacts on water column Area of impact = Area of i
Slide 18: Key impacts under normal operating conditions
Key impacts under normal operating conditions Drilling discharges Maximum cumulative risk for full summer simulation – modelled Eastern discharge impacts on water Area of impact = column 19.8 km2, 13.5 days No overlap with Kingklip Corals EBSA Go to slide master to update this footer Duration result
Slide 19: Key impacts under normal operating conditions
Key impacts under normal operating conditions Benthic impacts associated with the discharge of drilling muds and cuttings on epifauna (smothering) Intensity Extent Duration Magnitude Sensitivity Significance Status Confidence Without mitigation High Local Permanent High High HIGH - ‘ve High With mit
Slide 20: Drilling noise impacts on marine fauna
Key impacts under normal operating conditions Drilling noise impacts on marine fauna Drilling (24-hpour exposure) = worst-case/largest area of noise impact Species impacted (worst-case) Type and range of impact Baleen whales (southern right whale, Temp impacts at 9 km; impacts: Physical humpback wha
Slide 21: Key impacts under normal operating conditions
Key impacts under normal operating conditions Drilling noise impacts on marine fauna Intensity Extent Duration Magnitude Sensitivity Significance Status Confidence Without mitigation (worst-case, 24-hour Medium Local Medium term Low High LOW -‘ve High exposure) With mitigation Medium Local Medium te
Slide 22: Key impacts under normal operating conditions
Key impacts under normal operating conditions Light pollution impacts Intensity Extent Duration Magnitude Sensitivity Significance Status Confidence Without mitigation Medium Local Long term Medium High MEDIUM -‘ve High (production = worst-case) With mitigation Low Local Long term Low High LOW -‘ve
Slide 23: Key impacts under normal operating conditions
Key impacts under normal operating conditions Fisheries - Exclusion areas – construction and production Large pelagic longline: fishery with greatest overlap with proposed construction and operational exclusion areas All proposed wells and exclusion areas (total area = 4.7 km2) would cover 0.002 km2
Slide 24: Key impacts under normal operating conditions
Key impacts under normal operating conditions Fisheries Squid jig - Exclusion areas – exploration Large pelagic longline Go to slide master to update this footer Offshore demersal trawl 25
Slide 25: Key impacts under unplanned events
Key impacts under unplanned events Marine Habitats and Communities - Well blowout/pipeline rupture Highly unlikely to occur, but impacts significant Potential impacts dependent on prevailing metocean conditions at the time of the spill, the time of year, duration of the spill and extent of the plume
Slide 26: Key impacts under unplanned events
Key impacts under unplanned events Marine Habitats and Communities - Well blowout – Discharge 4 and 5 (condensate) Spill extends 250-290 km from the rupture point to the southwest (90% probability) For all seasons, oil from modelled well blowout reached international waters Offshore, surface oil (>
Slide 27: Key impacts under unplanned events
Key impacts under unplanned events Marine Habitats and Communities - Well blowout/Pipeline rupture – Discharge 4 and 5 (condensate) Impact Magnitude Sensitivity Significance Before mitigation — Plankton High High HIGH With mitigation — Plankton Medium High MEDIUM Before mitigation — Benthic fauna Hi
Slide 28: Key impacts under unplanned events
Key impacts under unplanned events Marine Habitats and Communities - Well blowout – Discharge 2 (crude) Spill spreads up to 500 km to the southwest (all seasons 37% probability); international waters. Offshore, surface oil (>5 μm thick) is projected (>70% probability) to intersect with 47% of the So
Slide 29: Key impacts under unplanned events
Key impacts under unplanned events Marine Habitats and Communities - Well blowout – Discharge 1 and 2 (crude) Impact Magnitude Sensitivity Significance Before mitigation — Plankton Very High High VERY HIGH With mitigation — Plankton High High HIGH Before mitigation — Benthic fauna Very High High VER
Slide 30: Key impacts under unplanned events
Key impacts under unplanned events Fisheries - Well blowout – Discharge 4 and 5 (condensate) Greatest impacts are expected for commercial fisheries that regularly deploy and haul gear. In the event of an oil spill, fishing may have to be temporarily suspended in oiled waters. - Well blowout – Discha
Slide 31: Key impacts under unplanned events
Key impacts under unplanned events Fisheries - Well blowout – condensate (worst-case) - Well blowout – crude (worst-case) Percentage of fishing grounds Percentage of fishing grounds (%overlap with >50% OS probability) (%overlap with >50% OS probability) Inshore demersal trawl 2.84 Inshore demersal t
Slide 32: Key impacts under unplanned events
Key impacts under unplanned events Fisheries - Well blowout – Discharge 4 and 5 (condensate) Intensity Extent Duration Magnitude Sensitivity Significance Status Confidence Without mitigation High Regional Medium term High High HIGH -ve High With mitigation Medium Regional Medium term Medium High MED
Slide 33: Key impacts under unplanned events
Key impacts under unplanned events Marine Habitats and Communities The priority first step is the prevention of unplanned events (in this case, crude and condensate spills). • Specific Project Controls for avoidance on unplanned events include: • Constructing wells to international specification in
Slide 34: Key recommendations
Key recommendations • Loss of benthic habitat and disturbance/mortality of epifauna within CBA Natural/ Biodiversity Conservation Areas as defined by the Draft Marine Biodiversity Sector Plan (2023) = impact of high significance. • Development of subsea pipelines associated with oil and gas processe
Slide 35: Key recommendations
Key recommendations • Forced to consider adopting an ‘out-of-kind’ offset, after following mitigation hierarchy: • Not possible to offset exactly like-for-like, as there is no equivalent habitat available within the concession area allocated to TEEPSA that can be restored or protected. • There is li
Slide 36: Thank you
Go to slide master to update this footer 37 wsp.com Thank you