An oil company report on a simulated Gulf of Mexico-style blow-out at a well off the Taranaki coast has confirmed that oil is likely to reach North Island beaches.
Anadarko's drill ship and a Greenpeace protest boat off Taranaki in November. Photo: GREENPEACE
After months of pressure from environmental groups, Maritime New Zealand released Texas-based Anadarko's oil response plan under the Official Information Act for drilling off the Taranaki coast and the Canterbury Basin off the Otago coast.
An oil spill model released by Greenpeace in October for a major oil well blow-out predicted that oil is likely to swamp fragile beaches on the west coast of the North Island.
Anadarko's models for the drilling it is carrying out now in the Romney Prospect, off Taranaki, show comparable effects.
The report assumes that 12,000 barrels of oil a day would be released and finds there is at least a 50% chance of oil reaching beaches. It says in the very worst scenario, up to half the oil would be beached and it would take at least 80 days for the gushing from the well to be stopped.
Anadarko's modelling shows blow-outs from successful test wells would take about 35 days to control by capping, but if that fails it would take up to 115 days for a relief well to be drilled. It also shows oil would take between three and four days to start reaching beaches.
Anadarko spokesperson Alan Seay told Radio New Zealand's Checkpoint programme on Friday the report is very detailed and provides information on how it would respond to a spill. However, he said that is highly unlikely to occur.
On 26 November, Anadarko's Noble Bob Douglas began drilling off Taranaki, not long before a flotilla of protest boats nearby decided to return to port.
The Green Party says modelling on what what would happen if test drilling for oil in the Canterbury Basin and off Taranaki goes wrong shows New Zealanders have every right to be worried about deep-sea drilling.
Energy spokesperson Gareth Hughes said on Friday the Government has not been upfront with the public about the risks of the drilling.
"The Prime Minister was clearly playing politics and pro-oil spin. Greenpeace, in fact, used a more conservative flow rate than Anadarko did for their report, and both Anadarko and Greenpeace agree we could see oil hitting our beaches from a blow-out."
