An Austrian oil company says it will take 21 days to halt oil spewing from its proposed drilling project off the Otago Coast in the event of a major disaster
A hydrocarbon dispersion report prepared for the company, OMV GSB, predicts more than 17,000 tonnes could spill into the water in the Great South Basin in a worst-case scenario.
However, the report did not think oil would end up washing up onto nearby beaches.
OMV has applied to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to get consent to drill in 1300 metres of water in an area known as Tawhaki-1, about 146 kilometres east of Balclutha in the South Island.
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But Greenpeace is questioning the veracity of the OMV's assessment, saying the company is using "surprisingly optimistic" estimates of how long it would take to cap an oil blowout in the event of a disaster.
Climate and energy campaigner, Amanda Larsson, says it's unusual the assessment suggests it would take just 21 days to stop a blowout when OMV had stated in previous applications for shallow-water drilling in Taranaki that it could take between 120 to 135 days to cap.
"There is no logic to the claim that it would take a tenth of the time to stop a blowout in the Great South Basin than in Taranaki,'' Larsson told Newshub.
Greenpeace has also commissioned an independent review of the company's modelling report.
The group says that review raised concerns about the level of detail provided to the EPA, and questions about its "subpar" oil spill modelling.
However, the Senior Vice President of OMV NZ Limited, Gabriel Selischi, said he was confident he'd supplied all necessary information for the EPA to make their assessment.
"The five-year drilling rig we've chosen is built to handle North Sea conditions which are harsher than those in the Great South Basin,'' Mr Selischi said.
He told Newshub he was confident the company had followed all required regulations throughout the application process.
Mr Selischi noted that if approved, the proposed well in the Great South Basin would be the 15th to be drilled in the area to date.
Greenpeace has made an application for a judicial review over the way OMV's application has been managed by the EPA.
The Environmental Protection Authority confirmed legal action was being taken, but would not comment further.
It said OMV's application is still currently being considered and a decision on consent for the Great South Basin project is due on November 18.
Newshub.
