Warrego Energy PTY Ltd West Erregulla Exploration Program · EPBC 2013/7054 Annual Report 2015-16 Coffey 21 December 2016. West Erregulla Exploration Program EPBC 2013/7054 Annual

Warrego Energy PTY Ltd

West Erregulla Exploration Program

EPBC 2013/7054 Annual Report 2015-16

21 December 2016

This page has been left intentionally blank

Coffey Environments Australia Pty LtdABN: 65 140 765 902

i

West Erregulla Exploration Program

Prepared forWarrego Energy PTY Ltd

Prepared byCoffey Environments Australia Pty LtdSuite 2, 53 Burswood RoadBurswood WA 6100 Australiat: +61 8 9269 6200 f: +61 8 9269 6299ABN: 65 140 765 902

21 December 2016

ENAUPERT02034AG_29_EPBC_AER_v2

Library reference: EP2016/091

Quality information

Revision history

Revision Description Date Originator Reviewer Approver

v1 Draft 20/12/2016 M. Holliday D. Morley D. Morley

v2 Final 21/12/2016 D. Morley D. Morley D. Morley

Distribution

Report Status No. of copies Format Distributed to Date

v1 1 PDF, Word Warrego Energy 20/12/2016

v2 1 PDF Warrego Energy 21/12/2016

Coffey Environments Australia Pty LtdABN: 65 140 765 902

ii

Table of contents

1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................1

2. Compliance with EPBC 2013/7054 .............................................................................................1

Tables

1 Compliance with EPBC 2013/7054................................................................................................1

Appendices

A Clearing footprint

West Erregulla Exploration ProgramEPBC 2013/7054 Annual Report 2015-16

CoffeyENAUPERT02034AG_29_EPBC_AER_v121 December 2016

1

1. Introduction

Warrego Energy Pty Ltd (Warrego Energy) is undertaking petroleum exploration activities in the WestErregulla Field, approximately 300 km north of Perth and located onshore in the North Perth Basin.

As part of its approval for the 3D seismic survey under the Environment Protection and BiodiversityConservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), Warrego Energy is required to publish a report on its compliancewith approval EPBC 2013/7054. This report documents Warrego Energy’s compliance for the periodof 6 October 2015 to 5 October 2016.

2. Compliance with EPBC 2013/7054

EPBC 2013/7054 was granted to Warrego Energy on 19 February 2014 after the CommonwealthDepartment of the Environment and Energy (formerly Department of the Environment) previouslydetermined that the exploration activities were a controlled action. The approval was later amendedon 3 April 2014 to remove condition 10a.

Table 1 reproduces the conditions of the approval (as amended) and sets out Warrego Energy’scompliance with each condition for the 3D seismic survey. The condition text has in some instancesbeen edited for brevity or omitted where not relevant to the 3D seismic survey. Explanatory notes notforming part of the approval are been provided in italics. Copies of the original approval are availablefrom the Department of the Environment and Energy’s website.

Table 1 Compliance with EPBC 2013/7054

Condition of EPBC 2013/7054 Compliance

Project Area

1. Note: condition defines the project area and is not acompliance item.

2. The person taking the action must provide a finalproject footprint to the department within 1 month ofthe completion of all project activities.

A final project footprint will be provided to theDepartment of the Environment and Energy once allproject activities permitted under the approval havebeen completed.

Project Activities

3. The person taking the action must conduct the 3Dseismic survey entirely within Exploration Permit(EP) 469 within the project area.

Note: ‘project area’ is defined by condition 1 and isdepicted on Attachment A to the approval.

All previous activities have been undertaken withinEP 469.

No project activities relating to the 3D seismic surveywere undertaken during the reporting period.

4. Within 1 month of the completion of each projectactivity, the person taking the action must publish areport and maps verifying compliance with theconditions of this notice on their website for a periodof at least 3 months. The department must benotified within one week of the information beingplaced on their website.

A compliance report was published on 20 January2015 to satisfy this condition for the 3D seismicsurvey. This report is currently accessible onWarrego Energy’s website.

No project activities relating to the 3D seismic surveywere undertaken during the reporting period.

5. The person taking the action will be permitted onedrill well for the purposes of exploration (appraisalgas well).

Warrego Energy has not yet undertaken any projectactivities relating to drilling.



2


6. The person taking the action must advise thedepartment within 1 month of the completion ofdrilling if the well and the pad and drillinginfrastructure are to be left in-situ.

Warrego Energy has not yet undertaken anyactivities relating to drilling.

Disturbance limits

7. No more than 70 ha of native vegetation can bedisturbed as a result of the project activities withinthe project area for the life of the project.

No clearing has occurred during the reporting period.

All previous clearing was conducted in the approvedarea (project area). The extent of native vegetationclearing to date is 56.345 ha.

Pre-clearance surveys

8. The person taking the action must ensure surveyinginformation is used that accurately locates anddemarcates all areas of disturbance (from sourcelines, receiver points, drill pad and access tracks)and identifies areas which need to be avoided(including individual threatened flora species, andlarge tree species that may be utilised for foragingand roosting by the Carnaby’s Black Cockatoowhere possible) during vegetation clearance.


Locations of threatened flora were mapped during aflora and vegetation survey of the wider project area.A ground-truthing survey was conducted immediatelyprior to vegetation clearance. The ground-truthingsurvey verified that the planned clearing for sourcelines and access tracks avoided the mappedlocations of threatened flora (including an additionalbuffer) and large trees.

9. The person taking the action must engage asuitably qualified person to identify and record anyindividuals of the Shield-backed Trapdoor Spider,Black Rugose Trapdoor Spider (ldiosoma nigrum),found during pre-clearance surveys. The persontaking the action must notify the department inwriting within 1 month of any individuals beingsighted, providing observations and GPS location(s)of the sighting.


A field survey for the Shield-backed Trapdoor Spiderand Black Rugose Trapdoor Spider was carried outand a report provided to the Department of theEnvironment. No individuals of either species weresighted during the survey or have been sighted since.

10. a. Note: condition was deleted on 3 April 2014.

b. Vegetation clearing along access tracks and 3Dseismic survey source lines must not be scraped tobare earth.


c. Known locations of Star Sun Orchid (Thelymitrastellata), the Sandplain Duck Orchid (Paracaleanadixonii), Yandanooka Mallee (Eucalyptus crispata),and Scaly Butt Mallee (Eucalyptus leprophloia)should be avoided.

No known locations of these species were impacted.

d. If otherwise unknown locations of EPBC Actlisted threatened species are identified duringproject activities, the person taking the action mustrecord individuals and notify the Department inwriting within 1 week of any individuals being sited,providing observations and GPS locations of thesites.

No additional locations of EPBC Act listed threatenedspecies were identified during the reporting period.

e. The drill pad, access tracks and borrow pitsshould be located to avoid locations of threatenedflora and, where possible, located on previouslydisturbed land.

Warrego Energy has not yet undertaken any fieldactivities relating to drilling (i.e. drill pad or borrowpits).



3


Environmental Management

11. The person taking the action must prepare andsubmit an Environment Management Plan for the3D seismic survey to the WA Department of Minesand Petroleum for approval. The approvedEnvironment Management Plan must be provided tothe Department within 2 weeks of approval.

The West Erregulla 3D Seismic Survey EnvironmentPlan was approved by the Department of Mines andPetroleum. The current version (v8) was approved on6 May 2014 and was subsequently provided to theDepartment of the Environment as the EnvironmentManagement Plan referred to in the approvalconditions.

12. The Environment Management Plan must addressimpacts of project activities associated with the 3Dseismic survey to EPBC Act listed threatenedspecies and must include avoidance, mitigation andmanagement measures to address these impacts.

Impacts of the project to EPBC Act listed threatenedspecies were identified in the project’s environmentalrisk assessment, which was a component of theEnvironment Plan. The risk assessment includesavoidance, mitigation and management measures toaddress these potential impacts.

13. The person taking the action must not commencethe 3D seismic survey unless the EnvironmentManagement Plan has been approved by the WADepartment of Mines and Petroleum. TheEnvironment Management Plan for the 3D seismicsurvey must be implemented.

No part of the 3D seismic survey was commencedbefore the Environment Plan was first approved on11 February 2014.

The Department of Mines and Petroleum audited the3D seismic survey against the Environment Plan inDecember 2014.

DMP’s audit found one minor non-conformancerelating to an error in documentation, but otherwisefound that the seismic survey had been implementedin accordance with the environmental managementplan.

14.15.16.

Note: conditions relate to appraisal drilling program. Warrego Energy has not yet undertaken anyactivities relating to drilling.

17. To offset the loss of habitat for the Carnaby's BlackCockatoo, within 12 months of the date of thisapproval, the person taking the action must providewritten evidence to the Department that a legallybinding conservation covenant has been registeredover the offset area identified as the ProposedOffset Area at Attachment A. The conservationcovenant must provide for the protection of no lessthan 543 ha of Carnaby's Black Cockatoo foraginghabitat.

Warrego Energy has registered a conservationcovenant over no less than 543 ha of Carnaby’sBlack Cockatoo foraging habitat.

The conservation covenant made under the Soil andLand Conservation Act 1945 was signed on 19February 2015 and lodged as memorial M982798 on1 May 2015.

18. The person taking the action must prepare andsubmit an Offset Plan for the offset area within 1month of commencement of project activities. TheOffset Plan must include, but not limited to:

• A textual description and map clearly definingthe location and boundaries of the offset area,as specified in this condition, which must beaccompanied with the offset attributes andshapefile;

• Milestones and objectives of the Offset Plan;• Details of rehabilitation measures for offset

area. These details should include but not belimited to, commencement timeframes, species

An Offset Plan meeting the requirements of thiscondition was submitted to the Department of theEnvironment on 9 May 2014, which was prior to thecommencement of project activities. The Departmentof the Environment acknowledged on 20 June 2014its receipt of the Offset Plan. (The Department of theEnvironment was not required to approve the OffsetPlan).

The current version of the Offset Plan is version 6dated 15 January 2015 and was approved by DMPon 16 January 2015.



4


to be utilized, stocking rates, measures to beutilized to ensure success, success targets,contingency measures in the case of notmeeting targets and monitoring requirements;

• Details of management measures for the offsetarea including measures to exclude weeds,third party access, intrusion of agriculturalactivities/practices and feral animals from offsetarea;

• Timeframes for the implementation andcompletion of the above measures orstrategies;

• Details of monitoring, reporting and contingencymeasures if performance indicators are notmet; and

• Roles and responsibilities of personnelassociated with implementing each of theabove measures.

19. If condition 17 cannot be met, the person taking theaction must provide another parcel or parcels ofland similar to the offset area for approval in writingby the Department.

Warrego Energy has registered a conservationcovenant over no less than 543 ha of Carnaby’sBlack Cockatoo foraging habitat, in accordance withcondition 17.

20. The Offset Plan must be implemented. The Offset Plan is being implemented as percondition 17. Management practices detailed in theOffset Plan have commenced.

Warrego Energy’s progress against the milestones inthe Offset Plan is as follows:

• Placement of the conservation covenant onthe title by 6 October 2015. The conservationcovenant made under the Soil and LandConservation Act 1945 was signed on 19February 2015 and lodged as memorialM982798 by 1 May 2015.

• Waste removal within 3 months offormalisation of the covenant. Waste wasremoved from the offset site within the 3 monthperiod (refer correspondence to DMP dated 17August 2015).

• Repair and maintenance of fencing within 3months of formalisation of the covenant.Fences were inspected and repaired wherenecessary within the 3 month period (refercorrespondence to DMP dated 17 August 2015).

• Weed management within 6 months offormalisation of the covenant. Weedmonitoring was undertaken in September 2015to provide a baseline.

• Revegetation plan and implementationcommenced within 6 months of formalisationof the covenant. The revegetation plan wasdeveloped in 2015. Initial monitoring eventsaround the time of the revegetation plan’sdevelopment indicate the site is naturally



5


regenerating and does not require additionalrevegetation. The results of the 2016 monitoringfieldwork, when available, will be used to informdecisions about future remediation, if any isdetermined to be required.

Rehabilitation

21. The person taking the action must prepare andsubmit a Rehabilitation Plan detailing rehabilitationactions and monitoring criteria for the project area tothe WA Department of Mines and Petroleum forapproval. The approved Rehabilitation Plan must beprovided to the Department within 2 weeks ofapproval.

A Rehabilitation Management Plan was approved bythe Department of Mines and Petroleum on29 December 2014. A copy of the approvedRehabilitation Management Plan was forwarded tothe Department of the Environment on6 January 2015.

22. The Rehabilitation Plan must be implemented. A Rehabilitation Management Plan was approved bythe Department of Mines and Petroleum on29 December 2014. The Rehabilitation ManagementPlan is now being implemented, following completionof the seismic survey activity on 20 December 2014.

Weed and rehabilitation monitoring has commenced,and the field survey was undertaken from 7 to 11September 2015. The results indicate thatrevegetation along the source lines and accesstracks is progressing well towards the completioncriteria. The weed assessment indicated that thecompletion criteria for weeds are being met.

The spring 2016 monitoring fieldwork took place justafter 5 October 2016 (and therefore outside thisreporting period) due to logistical issues. The resultsof this monitoring are not yet available.

23. The proponent taking the action must commencerehabilitation monitoring 1 month after completion ofproject activities and then annually for a minimum of2 years or until monitoring has shown allrehabilitation criteria provided in the RehabilitationPlan have been met.

Rehabilitation monitoring was commenced on16 January 2015, within one month of completingproject activities on 20 December 2014.

Annual weed and rehabilitation monitoring fieldworkwas undertaken just after 5 October 2016 (andtherefore outside this reporting period) due tologistical issues. The results of this monitoring arenot yet available.

General

24. Within 7 days after the commencement of theaction, the person taking the action must advise theDepartment in writing of the actual date ofcommencement.

The Department of the Environment was notified ofthe commencement of project activities on 13November 2014.

25. The person taking the action must maintainaccurate records substantiating all activitiesassociated with or relevant to the conditions ofapproval, including measures taken to implementthe Environment Management Plan(s) for 3DSeismic Survey and Appraisal Drilling Program (ifapplicable) and Rehabilitation Plan required by this

Records have been maintained throughout theduration of the seismic survey activities. WarregoEnergy has conducted several internal audits toensure that the Environment Plan is implementedand adhered to, including provisions contained withinthe Environment Plan for the keeping of records.



6


approval, and make them available upon request tothe Department.

26. Within three months of every 12 month anniversaryof the commencement of the action, the persontaking the action must publish a report on theirwebsite addressing compliance with each of theconditions of this approval, including implementationof any management plans as specified in theconditions. Documentary evidence providing proofof the date of publication and non-compliance withany of the conditions of this approval must beprovided to the Department at the same time as thecompliance report is published.

This report has been prepared for the period 6October 2015 to 5 October 2016. It includes adviceon and information from records kept by WarregoEnergy in accordance with condition 25.

This report will be published on Warrego Energy’swebsite in accordance with this condition.

27. Upon the direction of the Minister, the person takingthe action must ensure that an independent audit ofcompliance with the conditions of approval isconducted and a report submitted to the Minister.The independent auditor must be approved by theMinister prior to the commencement of the audit.Audit criteria must be agreed to by the Minister andthe audit report must address the criteria to thesatisfaction of the Minister.

No independent audits have been requested by theMinister.

28. If the person taking the action varies an approvedEnvironment Management Plan, the person takingthe action must provide to the department a revisedEnvironment Management Plan within 2 weeks ofthe WA Department of Mines and Petroleum'sapproval. The varied activity shall not commenceuntil the WA Department of Mines and Petroleumhas approved the varied Environment ManagementPlan in writing. If the WA Department of Mines andPetroleum approves the revised EnvironmentManagement Plan, that Environment ManagementPlan must be submitted to the department within2 weeks of the WA Department of Mines andPetroleum's approval and implemented in place ofthe Environment Management Plan originallyapproved.

The Environment Plan (v5) was initially approved bythe Department of Mines and Petroleum on11 February 2014. The Environment Plan wasamended and the current version (v8) was approvedon 7 May 2014. Both versions were provided to theDepartment of the Environment within the 2-weektimeframe following approval by the Department ofMines and Petroleum.

29. If the Minister believes that it is necessary orconvenient for the better protection of an EPBC Actlisted threatened species to do so, the Minister mayrequest that the person taking the action makespecified revisions to an Environment ManagementPlan specified in the conditions and in consultationwith the WA Department of Mines and Petroleum.The person taking the action must comply with anysuch request. The person taking the action mustsubmit the revised Environment Management Planfor the WA Department of Mines and Petroleum'swritten approval and submit to the departmentwithin 2 weeks of this approval. The revisedapproved Environment Management Plan must beimplemented. Unless the WA Department of Minesand Petroleum has approved the revisedEnvironment Management Plan, then the persontaking the action must continue to implement the

No amendments to any Environment ManagementPlan have been requested by the Minister.



7


Environment Management Plan originally approved,as specified in the conditions.

30. If, at any time after 12 months from the date of thisapproval, the person taking the action has notsubstantially commenced the action, then theperson taking the action must not substantiallycommence the action without the written agreementof the Minister.

The seismic survey was commenced within 12months of the date of approval.

31. Unless otherwise agreed to in writing by theMinister, the person taking the action must publishall approved management plans referred to in theseconditions of approval on their website. Eachmanagement plan must be published on the websitewithin 1 month of being approved.

The Environment Plan and RehabilitationManagement Plan both approved by the Departmentof Mines and Petroleum are published on WarregoEnergy’s website.

Appendix A - Clearing footprint

This page has been left intentionally blank

D ate:M XD :

Fi le N a m e :

S an d P la in C ree k

To m kins Ro ad

Natta R

oad

Ya ndanooka W est R oad

33 2 ,5 0 0

33 2 ,5 0 0

33 5 ,0 0 0

33 5 ,0 0 0

33 7 ,5 0 0

33 7 ,5 0 0

34 0 ,0 0 0

34 0 ,0 0 0

34 2 ,5 0 0

34 2 ,5 0 0

6,737

,500

6,737

,500

6,740

,000

6,740

,000

6,742

,500

6,742

,500

6,745

,000

6,745

,000

6,747

,500

6,747

,500

6,750

,000

6,750

,000

6,752

,500

6,752

,500

LEG E N DPro jec t a reaC lea ring fo o tp rin t

M in or roadSe a led roa dTrackPo te n tia l firebrea k

Sou rce and No tesPro je ct area from W arrego E nerg y.Clear ing foorprin t from w kc.Roa ds from G EO D ATA 250K (O p tim um sca le 1 :2 50,000) .Aer ia l im agery from Lan dgate W A (2011).

AF in a l d is tu rb an c e fo o tp rin tW est E rregulla 3D S eism ic S urvey

W arrego E nergy2 0 3 4 _ 2 3 _ A t tA _ G IS2 0 3 4 _ 2 3 _ G I S 0 0 1 _ v0 _ 11 7 . 0 3 . 2 0 1 5

N

Page s ize: A4

0 2k m

Pro je ct io n: G D A 199 4 M G A Z one 50

Scale 1:75,000

A tta ch m e n t:

Documents

Warrego Energy PTY Ltd West Erregulla Exploration Program · EPBC 2013/7054 Annual Report 2015-16 Coffey 21 December 2016. West Erregulla Exploration Program EPBC 2013/7054 Annual