Publications

There are a wide range of useful industry and APPEA publications, resources and research materials relating to Environment, Health and Safety. See below:

Codes of practice

Joint industry Operational and Scientific Monitoring Plan Framework

An Operational and Scientific Monitoring Plan (OSMP) is a key component in the suite of environmental management documents for offshore petroleum activities, which includes an Environment Plan (EP) and Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (OPEP).

The OSMP and its supporting documents are instrumental in providing situational awareness, in the unlikely event of a hydrocarbon spill, enabling Incident Management Teams/Emergency Management Teams (IMT/EMTs) to make informed decisions to minimise environmental impacts. An OSMP is also the principal tool for determining the extent, consequence and persistence of environmental impacts and resultant remediation activities.

Industry have been working collaboratively to develop a shared approach to oil pollution monitoring, which has culminated in the Joint Industry Operational and Scientific Monitoring Framework (Word version here). This Framework has been reviewed by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA), which issued a Regulatory Advice Statement in August 2021 in relation to how the Framework could be used to meet oil pollution monitoring requirements under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Environment) Regulations 2009.

Titleholders can apply the Framework to assist them in meeting the monitoring arrangements that they are required to detail in their EP and/or OPEP. To use the Framework, Titleholders must prepare and submit an Operational and Scientific Monitoring Bridging Implementation Plan which describes the alignment and interface between the Titleholder’s EP/OPEP and the Framework, demonstrating that the regulatory requirements associated with oil pollution monitoring can be met. To aid this process, an Operational and Scientific Monitoring Bridging Implementation Plan Template (Word version here) has been developed and is also available for use.

Titleholders wanting to use the Joint Industry Operational and Scientific Monitoring Framework must review and apply the NOPSEMA Regulatory Advice Statement when establishing oil pollution monitoring arrangements and preparing regulatory approval documents.

Any questions regarding use of the Framework may be provided to [email protected]

Collection and submission of marine mammal observer data

Whale sightings data provides an important evidence base to continuously inform policy formulation and operational decision-making.

Throughout 2020-21, APPEA contracted Blue Planet Marine to collate, assure and consolidate marine mammal observer (MMO) data.

APPEA has also developed an industry guideline to improve the quality and consistency of data recorded and submitted from seismic surveys in Australian waters.

Industry Guideline for the Collection and Submission of Marine Mammal Observer Data from Marine Seismic Surveys

Response planning guidelines

APPEA recently launched a new guidance document in association with the Australian Marine Oil Spill Centre (AMOSC) — and peer reviewed by Oil Spill Response Ltd (OSRL) — which details suitable responder training methods and processes for dealing with marine oil spills.

The full document is available via the link below:

Incident Management Teams — Knowledge requirements for responding to marine oil spills

Also available is the below guideline detailing ways the industry can provide a consistent and common approach to source control response planning in Australian offshore waters:

Australian Offshore Titleholders Source Control Guidelines

Safety guidelines

Mental Health and Wellbeing Implementation Guide (APPEA, AMMA, Safer Together) – portrait version

Mental Health and Wellbeing Implementation Guide (APPEA, AMMA, Safer Together) – landscape version

MODU Mooring in Australian Tropical Waters Guideline

Financial assurance

Australian Energy Producers’ 2024 Method for Estimating Levels of Financial Assurance (the 2024 FA Method) has been endorsed by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environment Management Authority (NOPSEMA) and is now available for holders of Australian offshore petroleum permits. The 2024 FA Method was developed by GHD Pty Ltd, on behalf of Australian Energy Producers, in consultation with NOPSEMA and independently validated by Vysus Group. ln endorsing the 2O24 FA Method, NOPSEMA no longer endorses the 2018 APPEA Method. However, NOPSEMA will allow for a transition period, until 31 March 2025, to allow titleholders sufficient time to obtain and implement the new method for their existing and upcoming petroleum activities. Further information on NOPSEMA transition arrangements is available via the NOPSEMA website here. For any enquiries or access to the 2024 FA Method please contact Jason Medd, Director Offshore & Decommissioning at [email protected].
2014 version: Method to assist in estimating appropriate levels of financial assurance (Historic)

Green Tape

Cutting Green Tape: streamlining major oil and gas project environmental approvals processes in Australia

Climate change

The Blue Books

APPEA has finalised funding arrangements for a new edition of the independent offshore research publication, Blue Book 3.

APPEA released Blue Book 1, Environmental implications of oil and gas development: The findings of an independent scientific review, in 1994 (with a supplementary release, Blue Book 2, in 2003).

Blue Books 1 and 2 have served industry well, managing stakeholder concerns, building regulator confidence and contributing to the industry’s social licence to operate.

Blue Book 3 is being produced under APPEA’s Marine Environmental Science Program (MESP).

It will communicate the scientific knowledge base and environmental impacts of oil and gas development on the marine environment. This project is expected to take two years and will include chapters on environmental aspects, stressors and hazards. An independent scientific panel will review the report before publication.

So far, the MESP has delivered or contributed to the following papers and databases:

Understanding the Consequences of Unplanned Discharges (BMT Oceanica)
Scientific Literature Review of the Environmental Impacts of Decommissioning Options (Advisian)
Underwater Sound and Vibration from Offshore Petroleum Activities and their Potential Effects on Marine Fauna: An Australian Perspective (CMST)
Potential impacts on zooplankton of seismic surveys (CSIRO)
Industry-Government Environmental Meta-database
Decommissioning offshore infrastructure: a review of stakeholder views and science priorities. (WA Marine Science Institute, Blueprint for Marine Science)

Copies of Blue Book 1 and Blue Book 2 can be ordered from APPEA.

Blue Book 1 (hardback): $245
Blue Book 2 (CD-ROM): $110

To order please contact email [email protected]