Obtaining Aopprovals for Oil and Gas Projects in Shallow Water Marine Areas in Western Australia using an Environmental Risk Assessment Framework

摘要

The oil and gas industry is of major economic imporant to the state of Western Australia. The majority of its activities are offshore, soem occurring in shallow marine areas adjacent to sensitive resources such as coral reefs and mangroves. One of the main issues for the oil and gas industry is continued access to marine acreage. Increasing public concern about the enviormental protection of the coastal and marine enviornment has increased the focus on the various users. This has resulted in the development of statutory and administrative processes, mroe stringent environmental assessment and operating conditiosn, and greater scrutiny on the issue of access of proposals to some areas.