Page 28 - IAGC The Voice 2017

Guideline for Environmental Impact Evaluation
of Marine Seismic Projects

The IAGC comments to Uruguay's Administración Nacional
de Combustibles, Alcohol y Portland Gerencia Exploracion y
Produccion (ANCAP) highlighted concern with any regulations
that might be implemented without scientific basis, including
URUGUAY masking, seasonal restrictions, permanent hearing loss in marine
mammals due to seismic sources and potential impact on eggs
and fish larvae. The comments also explain the industry's
regular interaction and cooperation with fishing vessels all over
the world and its strategies to ensure overlap is mitigated to
diminish occasional interference. Finally, the comments provided
an overview of seismic activity, terminology and abbreviations,
observation of marine fauna, and mitigation best practices.

Indonesia Extends Data Release Period after
IAGC Engagement

Following ongoing engagement with the IAGC, the Indonesian
government announced it will extend confidentiality periods
for G&G data. The Indonesian Minister of Energy signed a
new regulation Licensing of Oil and Gas Business Activities
in Indonesia (No. 29/2017). Clause 23 of the new regulation
states the marketing rights of multi-client survey data will be
increased from 10 years to 15 years for 3-D data and from five
INDONESIA
years to 10 years for 2-D data.

General Administrative Provisions -
Guidelines for Industrial Safety,
Operational Safety and Protection of the
Environment

BRAZIL The IAGC 's comments on Brazil's Guidelines for Industrial Safety,
Operational Safety and Protection of the Environment request
alterations to the definitions of "environmental sensitive areas" and
"Passive Acoustic Monitoring" to reduce ambiguity and increase
accuracy. Among key issues of concern is a proposed requirement
to limit the use of air sources to only one vessel in areas where listed
species are present. The IAGC comments highlight there is no
evidence that spatial restrictions yield any benefit to listed species
and could limit acquisition methods that involve more than one
vessel like Wide Azimuth.
Another issue is the proposed shutdown for dolphins, for which
there is no scientific basis. The comments point to numerous
scientific studies that corroborate this position. The comments also
provide Protected Species Observers (PSO) observation reports that
indicate that there is no statistically significant difference between the
frequency of dolphin sightings and acoustic detections during seismic
operations when the source is active or silent.
28 THE VOICE