Oil prospector to follow DOC guidelines - minister

Yachts leaving Auckland Harbour as part of a protest flotilla headed for the East Cape where deep sea oil exploration is scheduled to begin. Photo / NZPA

The Government says Petrobras is following Department of Conservation (DOC) guidelines to minimise the disturbance to marine mammals while it looks for oil off the East Cape.

Opponents of deep sea oil drilling say seismic testing by the Brazilian oil giant will interfere with marine mammals' migratory patterns.

A flotilla of ships protesting the operation will join local iwi Te Whanau a Apanui and others to protest against the planned deep sea oil exploration and drilling in the Raukumara Basin, east of their tribal lands.

The protest was expected to coincide with the beginning of seismic surveying by Petrobras, which was last year awarded a five-year petroleum exploration permit in the basin.

Daniel Mares, from the Nuclear Free flotilla, said this would involve blasting sound to the sea floor from air-powered cannons, which would interfere with the communication and sensory systems of marine mammals.

"There's definitely a correlation between marine mammal behaviour and the operation of seismic survey vessels. "Although there's no potential for an oil spill from that, there's potential that it could disrupt the migratory patterns of the migratory species," Mr Mares said.

A spokeswoman for Acting Energy and Resources Minister Hekia Parata said Petrobras was following DOC guidelines to minimise acoustic disturbance to marine mammals.

These included requirements for operators to use the lowest practical power levels, have an independent, trained marine mammal observer to record sightings of the mammals before and during operations, and to have regard to the 1.5km radius for species of concern and 200m for all other species.

Operations must stop if there are mammals within the radius.

The flotilla arrived in Whitianga today to rally support before it heads to meet Te Whanau a Apanui on Saturday, when they will decide how to conduct the protest.

"I think that the Government's seriously misjudged the attitude of the New Zealand people to our treasures - to our coastline, to our marine mammals, to our land, air and water," Mr Mares said.

New Zealand would be ill-equipped to deal with a an oil spill such as the recent slick in the Gulf of Mexico, he said.

The spokeswoman for Ms Parata said a dedicated unit of Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) based in the Auckland suburb of Te Atatu was responsible for ensuring New Zealand was prepared for, and able to respond to, marine oil spills.

The Marine Pollution Response Service consisted of internationally respected experts who managed and trained about 400 local government and MNZ responders.

The National Contingency plan was responsive and regularly evaluated to ensure it met oil spill risk profiles, she said.

Ms Parata said more money could potentially be earned from our oil and gas resources than what is currently earned from tax and from royalties from the oil and gas industry.

"In 2009, Taranaki's oil and gas industry employed the equivalent of 5090 full time people and contributed $2 billion in GDP. While the sector employs fewer than half as many people as the dairy industry in Taranaki, it contributes almost 2.5 times more to regional GDP.

"There has been a great deal of concern raised over the impact of the petroleum industry on the environment in the future. I want to remind people that we have a long history in petroleum dating back to the 19th century - 59 wells have been drilled in New Zealand waters in the last five years alone."

- NZPA