ConocoPhillips Australia – T/49P and VIC/P79 Cetacean Surveillance Program Report

Summary

ConocoPhillips Australia SH1 Pty Ltd and ConocoPhillips Australia SH2 Pty Ltd (ConocoPhillips Australia) are proposing to conduct petroleum exploration activities, involving seabed surveys (non-seismic) and drilling, within petroleum titles T/49P and VIC/P79 (permit areas) in the offshore Otway Basin, south of Victoria and west of King Island, Tasmania.

ConocoPhillips Australia contracted Fathom Pacific Pty Ltd (Fathom Pacific) to conduct aerial surveillance for marine mammals within the two petroleum titles, and along offshore continental slope waters, to inform impact assessment and mitigation considerations in the development of an Environment Plan (EP) for exploration activities. The results of this study provide contemporary context on the temporal and spatial distribution of whales in the region.