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What is the impact of drilling on the marine environment?
The Australian offshore petroleum industry has always contended that its activities are environmentally friendly.
The industry's case has now been given increased strength with the findings of the Independent Scientific Review Committee (ISRC) inquiry commissioned by the Australian Petroleum Exploration Association.
In Australia up to 100 offshore wells per year are drilled. About a quarter of these are development wells to produce oil or gas found by previous drilling.
Before a well can be drilled, government approval must be obtained. Drilling must then conform to statutory conditions and further operations are covered by industry Codes of Practice.
The Independent Scientific Review has found that environmental impacts from offshore exploration and production are negligible. The ISR examined the potential environmental effects of discharge of drilling fluids, drill cuttings and "produced formation water" (PFW).
Companies in Australia safeguard the environment and minimise impacts in a number of ways.
Drilling fluids used in Australia are almost exclusively water-based, not oil-based.
During production, oil is separated from the water by mechanical devices before the produced formation water is returned to sea. Australia's regulations on how much petroleum hydrocarbon is contained in PFW are among the world's strictest.
Sophisticated and reliable blowout prevention systems (BOP) are used in every production well to minimise the possibility of a blowout - where uncontrolled fluids flow from a well.
Four drilling rig types
In the early days of offshore drilling, explorers simply fitted a derrick to a barge and towed it to their site. Today, four types of offshore rigs are used to drill wildcat or exploration wells.