Statement of Environmental Objectives

Sections 96, 99 - 105 of the Petroleum Act 2000

All regulated activities conducted under the Petroleum Act must have an approved Statement of Environmental Objectives (SEO) in place with which they comply. This SEO is developed through an open, consultative process, based on information provided in the EIR.

An SEO for a regulated activity must state the environmental objectives to be achieved in carrying out the specified activities, as well as the measurement criteria used to assess whether the objectives have been achieved by the licensee. And SEO must also include conditions and requirements for achieving the stated objectives, such as incident reporting requirements.

An SEO must include objecgives that relate to:

  • construction activities;
  • operational activities;
  • emergency response and management;
  • rehabilitation in cases involving a serious or reportable incident under Section 85 of the Petroleum Act;
  • decommissioning, abandonment and rehabilitation; and
  • dealing with the consequences of events associated with the relevant activities on the various aspects of the environment.

An SEO may relate to either a specific activity carried out at a specific location; or a particular activity type (e.g. drilling, seismic activities, the construction and operation sof facilities and pipelines) carried out within a specific region or land system.