Our EP in brief Exploring safely for oil and gas in the Great Australian Bight A guide to Equinor’s draft Environment Plan for Stromlo-1 Exploration Drilling Program Published by Equinor Australia B.V. www.equinor.com.au/gabproject February 2019 Our EP in brief This booklet is a guide to our draft EP for the Stromlo-1 Exploration Program in the Great Australian Bight. The full draft EP is 1,500 pages and has taken two years to prepare, with extensive dialogue and engagement with stakeholders shaping its development. We are committed to transparency and have published this guide as a tool to facilitate the public comment period. For more information, please visit our website. www.equinor.com.au/gabproject What are we planning to do? Can it be done safely? We are planning to drill one exploration well in the Over decades, we have drilled and produced safely Great Australian Bight in accordance with our work from similar conditions around the world. In the EP, we program for exploration permit EPP39. See page 7. demonstrate how this well can also be drilled safely. See page 14. Who are we? How will it be approved? We are Equinor, a global energy company producing oil, gas and renewable energy and are among the world’s largest We abide by the rules set by the regulator, NOPSEMA. We offshore operators. See page 15. are required to submit draft environmental management plans for assessment and acceptance before we can begin any activities offshore. See page 20. CONTENTS 8 12 What’s in it for Australia? How we’re shaping the future of energy If oil or gas is found in the Great Australian Bight, it could How can an oil and gas producer be highly significant for South be part of a sustainable energy Australia. A report has found future? And how can a company that it could create thousands of that claims to support the jobs, spur economic growth and Paris Agreement, continue generate billions of dollars in to explore for oil and gas? State and Federal tax income. 5 16 About this guide How it works: exploring for oil 7 Where and when are we planning to drill? About our licences What equipment do we use? Learn all about our giant floating exploration rig and all the 20 safety measures we put in place to minimise How do we get approval for the drilling activity? the chances of an oil spill. 24 Listening to the community: engagement and consultation 26 Understanding the EP: what it contains 40 30 What is the risk The environmental values of the area that of an oil spill? may be affected The chance of a major 38 oil spill from our well is Impact and risk assessment extremely low. We drill 30-40 exploration wells like 42 this every year, and we have Our oil spill response plan prepared for any scenario. 48 Preparedness and external support: how we will implement the EP 50 Glossary: acronyms and abbreviations 4 www.equinor.com ABOUT THIS GUIDE This document, ‘Our EP in brief’, is a shortened and simplified version of our full draft Environment Plan – Stromlo-1 Exploration Drilling Program (EP). It’s not part of our legal submission to the regulator, NOPSEMA, but is provided as a guide. In the case of any discrepancy, the full draft EP applies. The EP has taken two years to develop, including co-funding extensive baseline surveying of the deep-water environments and the met-ocean conditions of the Great Australian Bight. Furthermore, this is the first time a draft EP for an offshore exploration well has been published before submission to NOPSEMA. We have travelled across South Australia and beyond, holding more than 130 meetings with organisations with an interest in our offshore exploration project in the Bight. We wanted to engage broadly, listen and learn about local issues. We recognise that people have questions about our planned activity and want assurances it can be done safely. We also heard from many people who were excited about the opportunities it could bring to the region. We will continue to travel in the region and meeting with people in the community. We consider that transparency is essential in building trust with communities. To that end, we decided to publish our draft EP in full, with a 30-day open public comment period prior to submission to NOPSEMA. Two years of consultation and engagement have shaped our approach and the content of this plan. We would like to express our gratitude to all the people and communities who have contributed through this process. We hope you find the guide informative and useful, and welcome your feedback in the comment period. Camilla Aamodt Jone Stangeland Terry Visser Exploration Manager, Country Manager, Australia Senior Project Adviser Australia and New Zealand our ep in brief 5 Equinor has safely drilled more than 65 deepwater wells and operated for decades in stronger winds, higher waves and colder waters than the Great Australian Bight. 6 www.equinor.com About our licences In June 2017, Equinor became the operator and The drilling location has been selected after comprehensive 100 per cent equity owner of offshore exploration permits analysis of geological and geophysical data from the area, EPP39 and EPP40 located in the Great Australian Bight. from seismic surveys and from the 13 other exploration wells The Stromlo-1 well location is situated in EPP39, about already drilled in the Great Australian Bight. We believe 372 km off the coast of South Australia and 476 km west there could be a petroleum-based resource about 2,700 m of Port Lincoln. The water depth at the drilling location below the seabed. is 2,239 metres. When will we drill? Since 2011, the Australian Government has awarded 11 exploration permits in the Great Australian Bight. Each We plan to start drilling in Q4 2020 once all the necessary permit has minimum work requirements (e.g. seismic surveys safety and environmental regulatory approvals are in place. and drilling) that operators must complete to comply The exploration drilling will take place over approximately with the permit conditions. We are planning to drill one 60 days. The summer period is the best time of year for exploration well, Stromlo-1, as required by the conditions drilling in the Great Australian Bight as the meteorological of our permit. and ocean conditions are most favourable. We will draw on our extensive offshore experience to drill the well safely using established techniques and technology. At the end of the exploration drilling program, we will plug the well and not conduct any further testing. LEGEND Equinor PetroleumQ U E E N Title SLAND . ! Stromlo-1 Petroleum Well (2019) Stratigraphic Wells (GPInfo 2018) # 1998 Exploration Wells (GPInfo 2018) ! 1960 - 1970 W E S T ERN ! 1971 - 1980 A U S T R ALIA ! 1981 - 1990 SOUTH AUSTRALIA ! 1991 - 2000 ! 2001 - 2008 ") EUCLA I 400 km ") CEDUNA 400 km ") N E W S O UTH ! PORT AUGUSTA Apollo 1 W A L ES WHYALLA ") ODP 1127A, B ") PORT PIRIE ODP 1132A, B, C ### ### ### ODP 1129A, B, C, D Gemini 1A ODP 1130A, B, C# ODP 1131A, B !Potoroo 1 Columbia 1 ! #### !!! !!Gemini 1 # ###ODP 1133A, B, C Columbia 1/ST1 ! Jerboa 1 km 372 Mercury 1 ODP 1134A, B ODP 1126A, B, C, D Columbia 1/ST2 !!Gnarlyknots 1A ####ODP 1128A, B, C, D Gnarlyknots 1 ")PORT LINCOLN 476 km ADELAIDE ! ") Stromlo-1 I 730 km Troubridge Island 1 ! ") !Frijole 1 MURRAY BRIDGE EPP39 ! !Platypus 1 Enchilada 1 !Greenly 1 ! ") Duntroon 1 !Echidna 1 KANGAROO VICTOR HARBOR ") Borda 1! !Vivonne 1 ISLAND 550 km V I C T ORIA ! Trumpet 1 Crayfish A1Sophia Jane 1 ! ! Troas 1/ST1! ! Neptune 1 Troas 1 !! ! Chama 1 Morum 1 Chama 1A !Copa 1 ") MOUNT GAMBIER Argonaut A1! Breaksea Reef 1!!!!Fermat 1 Breaksea Reef 1/ST1 !!Normanby 1 Breaksea Reef 1/ST2 Discovery Bay 1 Breaksea Reef 1/ST3 ! ! Voluta 1 ! !Callister 1 ! Bridgewater Bay 1 Callister 1 !!!Halladale 1 DW3DW2DW1 Henry 1!!!!MarthaPecten East1 1 !!NetherbyHenryPecten! 1/ST11A 1 Pecten 1 The location for our proposed well is over 370CEDUNA km from SUB-BASIN the nearest AND shore SURROUNDING and 550 km REGION from Kangaroo Island. www.equinorenergy.com.au our ep in brief 7 What’s in it for Australia? South Australians can expect new We’re early in the jobs to be created as well as rich exploration phase and opportunities for local suppliers and contributions to tax revenue for the we don’t yet know if Federal and State governments. Why do we want to explore the we will find oil or gas. Great Australian Bight? But if we do find oil We have a good understanding of the geology in our licence area, based on or gas, it could offer high-quality 3D seismic data analysis. We believe there could be a working petroleum significant benefits to system within our permit area and we are Australia, regionally well positioned to test this potential. The best way to understand the potential and nationally. benefits is to look at places where large discoveries have been developed. The Energy is at the heart of modern society: Bass Strait oilfields near Melbourne and heating, cooling, transportation, housing, the North-West Shelf in Western Australia lighting, food, health, education and are two good Australian examples, where resources for industry. The world needs well-regulated and safe operations more energy, and oil has been the world’s have provided economic development most used source of energy since the mid- for decades.