falcon seismic emp 2 executive summary

8/7/2019 Falcon Seismic EMP 2 Executive Summary

1/7

Page i

Exploration Right Environmental Management Programme Report:

Seismic Survey, Southern Karoo Basin

Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction

1.1 BackgroundFalcon Oil & Gas Ltd (Falcon) is applying for an

Exploration Right in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum

Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 (MPRDA) to

conduct natural gas exploration by means of a seismic

survey in the southern part of the Great Karoo Basin,

South Africa.

The application area (refer to Figure 1) encompasses

more than 2 500 farms and farm portions (1 239 title

deeds). Falcon proposes to conduct seismic data

acquisition on a limited number of these only (see

Section 2.3 below).

1.2 Legal RequirementsSection 5(4) of the MPRDA states that any proponent

may not explore for petroleum or commence with any

work incidental thereto on any area without:

An approved Environmental ManagementProgramme (EMP);

An Exploration Right; and

Notifying and consulting with the landowners or

lawful occupiers of the land in question.

In order to apply for an Exploration Right, Falcon

completed the prescribed Application Form and

submitted it to the Petroleum Agency of South Africa(PASA) the designated agency regulating petroleum

exploration and production in terms of the MPRDA on

31 August 2010. PASA accepted the Application Form

on 7 September 2010 (PASA Reference No: 12/3/208/1)

and instructed Falcon to notify and consult with

National Environmental Management: Biodiversity

Act (Act No. 10 of 2004);

National Heritage Resources Act (Act No. 25 of

1999); and

National Water Act (Act No. 36 of 1998).

Project Description

2.1 Background and Motivation

Falcons proposed seismic survey exploration

programme is intended to assist in determining whether

the unquantified shale gas known to occur in the

application area constitutes a commercially viablenatural gas resource.

Natural (methane) gas provides a cleaner form of

energy than coal or oil. Shale gas exploration is,

therefore, strategically important to identify and assess

potential sources of natural gas which could provide

alternative energy sources to South Africa.

Should the seismic survey results indicate the presence

of a potentially viable shale gas resource, Falcon may

apply to PASA for the right to conduct further

exploration in the form of exploration well drilling,

which would be necessary to ascertain the commercial

viability of the resource. If production of gas were to be

pursued, Falcon would have to apply for a Production

Right.

This EMP Report is concerned with the seismic survey

exploration programme only since the location and

extent, as well as the potential viability of any shale gas

resource, are not known at present.


2/7

FOUD/dalc 424473_Falcon_Seismic EMP_Executive Summary_FINAL January 2011

Figure 1: Map of the application area, key environmental characteristics and the preliminary seismic survey lines.


3/7

2.3 Seismic Field Data Acquisition

Falcon has identified preliminary locations (routes) for

the survey lines (see Figure 1). These lines will be

finalised during Year 1 of the exploration programme

and will be amended as far as possible to incorporatelandowner concerns and environmental constraints.

Wherever possible, seismic lines will follow existing

roads, tracks and other previously disturbed areas.

Up to 1 000km seismic data will be acquired using the

shot hole method. This involves drilling 5m-deep shot

holes at approximately 50m intervals along the seismic

lines. The holes will be drilled using one of a number ofsmall types of portable drilling rigs, depending on the

local conditions.

Small explosive charges placed in each hole and

detonated in a controlled manner create and transmit

pulses of acoustic energy into the ground. Different

geological strata will reflect this back to the surface and

geophones (receivers) placed along the seismic lines willpick up and record the time taken for the sound wave to

reflect back to the surface. This information is then

interpreted to form a picture of the geological layers in

the survey area.

Falcon will appoint a contractor to undertake the

seismic data acquisition activities in the field. A seismic

crew of roughly 18 to 22 staff, with equipmentcomprising around four 4x4 vehicles (bakkies), two

vehicle-mounted drills (one of which will be small and

specifically designed for off-road areas) and three small

transportation trucks, will be active in the field for the

expected 6 to 8-month duration of the seismic survey.

The Affected Environment

The southern Karoo region has a semi-arid climate with

hot summers and very cold winters. Rainfall in the area

is generally low and the area has experienced severe

drought over the last few years.

level. Groundwater is used extensively in the Karoo and

abstraction takes place year-round.

Air quality in the application area is generally good as

there is little industrial development or other sources of

air pollutants in the vicinity, although dust levels are

likely to be relatively high in the arid Karoo conditions.

The application area is rural in nature and generally

quiet. Any noise that is generated is typical of

agricultural areas and comes from agricultural vehicles,

machinery and road traffic.

The application area is vast and encompasses a

significant diversity of habitats and vegetation types in

four ecoregions or biomes. The bulk of the application

area falls within the semi-arid Nama Karoo Biome. The

Succulent Karoo Biome makes up the western quarter

of the application area where there are also some

relatively small areas on the escarpment that are part of

the Fynbos Biome. In the eastern quarter of the study

area there are relatively small patches that fall within

the Thicket Biome.

The application area is dominated by two Nama Karoo

vegetation types, namely Gamka Karoo (central area)

and Eastern Lower Karoo (eastern area), and the

preliminary seismic lines transect these two vegetation

types for the most part. None of the vegetation types

that occur in the application area is listed as threatened,

although most types have high proportions of SouthAfrican endemics. Some dwarf succulent species, for

example, have very restricted ranges and specialized

habitat requirements, making them very sensitive to

disturbance.

Although large parts of the application area comprise

natural veld (with some degraded areas) there are no

completely pristine areas remaining in the Karoo,largely due to the effects of grazing.

The application area largely hosts animals with

extensive distributions, although diversity and

endemism among invertebrates and reptiles is high in


4/7

Page iv

disappeared, some species do still occur or have been

reintroduced into protected areas or private game

farms, along with some non-indigenous species.

Very few formally protected areas fall within or overlap

with the application area and the preliminary seismic

survey lines are located well away from these, although

a number privately-owned game and other farms that

are managed for conservation and/or ecotourism

purposes do fall within the application area.

Several areas identified as focus areas for protected

area expansion by the National Protected Areas

Expansion Strategy (NPAES) also occur in the application

area. In addition, the preliminary seismic survey lines

also traverse a number of areas highlighted on the

Critical Biodiversity Area (CBA) maps for the region.

The cultural/heritage resources in the application area

consist of archaeological sites ranging from Early Stone

Age occupation right into the historical period, most of

which are well represented elsewhere and not unique

to the Karoo. Historical period sites, such as historic

farmsteads and towns with associated formal and

informal burial grounds are also present.

The greater Karoo Basin is very important for its

palaeontological resources. The application area is rich

in known fossil sites, particularly in the western half and

in the Sundays River valley in the east.

The application area comprises the districts of Ceres,

Laingsburg, Prince Albert and Beaufort West in the

Western Cape; Fraserburg and Sutherland in the

Northern Cape and Aberdeen, Graaff Reinet,

Jansenville, Willowmore and Pearston in the Eastern

Cape (see Figure 1). Most of these towns fall just

outside the application area. The larger settlements

that fall within the application area include Merweville,

Leeu-Gamka, Rietbron, Aberdeen and Jansenville.

The majority of the land within the application area is

privately owned farmland, mostly used for raising

livestock (sheep, goats and some cattle) and game for

optimisation) measures designed to reduce the

significance of negative impacts (or enhance benefits).

Seismic data acquisition activities will move along

rapidly (up to 10km per day) and direct impacts will

therefore mostly be of very short duration. Impacts will

also mostly be limited to the project footprint and, as

activities will mostly take place on previously disturbed

areas, would be of limited intensity.

A summary of the significance of the potential impacts

and key recommended mitigation measures is provided

in Table 1. Potential impacts have all been assessed to

be insignificant or of very low or low significance with

the implementation of the recommended mitigation

measures, which have all been incorporated as

management actions into the EMP (see below).

Environmental Management Programme

The primary purpose of the EMP is to detail the

management and control measures required to ensure

that the mitigation measures identified to minimise

potential negative impacts are effectively implemented,

and that all seismic survey exploration activities are

conducted in a sustainable and environmentally

responsible manner.

5.1 Roles and Responsibilities

Several role-players will be involved in theenvironmental management of the seismic survey

activities. These role-players and their responsibilities

are:

PASA responsible for monitoring Falcons

compliance with the conditions of the Exploration

Right and the EMP;

Falcon has overall responsibility for the

implementation of and compliance with the

conditions of the Exploration Right and the EMP.

During seismic data acquisition activities, Falcon will

be represented on site by a full-time Site Agent;


5/7

Page v

environmental concerns or project aspects will be

compiled and implemented during the seismic survey

exploration programme, including the following:

Land Use Agreements will be drawn up with each

landowner and will set out management measures

and requirements for working on private property

(including compensation arrangements);

Vegetation Management Plans will be

implemented where the final seismic surveys lines

cannot avoid natural vegetation in specific areas of

concern within the application area;

An Environmental Awareness Plan will beimplemented to ensure that all staff are aware of

the content and requirements of the EMP and their

environmental responsibilities in this regard;

A Grievance Mechanism will be implemented to

ensure that IAPs can register complaints and that

these will be addressed quickly and adequately; and

Compliance Monitoring will take place through

daily monitoring checklists completed by the

Seismic Contractor and signed off by the Falcon Site

Agent, as well as fortnightly EMP compliance

reports compiled by the ECO.

5.3 Environmental Specifications and Management

Actions

The mitigation (and optimisation measures) identified

during impact assessment are incorporated into the

EMP as the key environmental specifications and

management actions that Falcon (and the Seismic

Contractor) commit to implement during all activities in

the field during the seismic exploration programme.

5.4 Financial Provision

Falcon must make financial provision for environmental

management of the seismic exploration activities,

including rehabilitation. Financial provision is calculated

based on the requirements of the EMP.

The main concerns raised by IAPs with regard to the

proposed seismic exploration activities related to:

Potential impacts on water resources, specifically

groundwater;

Landowner rights and compensation; and

Potential impacts on vegetation (and grazing).

Many of the concerns and objections raised by IAPs did

not pertain to the proposed seismic survey exploration

programme per se, but related to the renewed interest

in the Karoo for potential gas production in general and

the implications of possible future gas production for

the region. These concerns could not be addressed in

the EMP as the activities that they relate to are not

included in the application to PASA since they are not

currently proposed and no details are available. Any

predictions with respect to such activities would

therefore be premature and, at best, speculative and

theoretical.


6/7


7/7

falcon seismic emp 2 executive summary

Documents