15 Dec 2013

Battle lines drawn over oil drilling

10:20 pm on 15 December 2013

The oil industry and environmental groups are at loggerheads over a report on the risks of a blow-out on deep sea drilling.

Texas-based Anadarko is drilling an exploratory well in the Taranaki Basin and its oil response plan has been released under the Official Information Act.

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.

The Petroleum Exploration and Production Association calls the report an intellectual model on a worst case scenario, not a realistic account of what will happen.

Steve Abel of Greenpeace disagrees, and says the situation outlined could occur. "Worst case scenario spill modelling is saying 'what happens if we do get a deep water blowout'. These sorts of blow-outs do happen so there's a reason why this modelling is done."

Petroleum Exploration and Production Association chief executive David Robinson says risk can never be eliminated but the 1700 page report actually shows how careful the oil industry is.

"We're doing a slow and considered job and we can do this safely and in the extraordinarily unlikely event that something was to go wrong we are able to respond."

Mr Robinson says there has never been an oil blow-out in New Zealand and oil production is vital for the economy.

Plan doesn't mean blow-out will happen, says PM

Prime Minister John Key says Anadarko's worst case oil-spill scenario has to be planned for, but it doesn't mean it is likely to happen.

He says Anadarko has a responsibility as a professional operator to have extreme planning, but it doesn't mean a large blow-out will actually happen.