Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd (Esso) operates the joint venture responsible for the exploration, development and production of gas and condensate from Bass Strait, offshore Victoria’s east coast. The broader offshore Bass Strait system comprises 425 wells, 19 offshore platforms and six subsea facilities linked by more than 800km of pipelines.

This EP assesses the environmental impacts and risks associated with the ongoing operation and maintenance of the producing Bass Strait assets and demonstrates how these are managed to ALARP. The producing assets and associated permit areas covered by this EP are shown in the location map.

The producing infrastructure includes six platforms and two subsea facilities, located in water depths from approximately 46m (BTW) to 95m (KPA):
• Platforms:
• Barracouta (BTA)
• Marlin A (MLA)
• Marlin B (MLB)
• Snapper (SNA)
• Tuna (TNA)
• West Tuna (WTN).
• Subsea facilities:
• Kipper (KPA)
• West Barracouta (BTW).

A network of subsea pipelines supports the system, located in water depths of approximately 20m (where two pipelines cross into Victorian State waters) to 95m at the KPA facility.

The EP covers activities required to safely operate and maintain the producing assets, including;
• platform operations
• pipeline operations
• subsea facilities operations
• well work, including platform-based plug and abandonment (P&A)
• inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR)
• support activities (helicopters, vessels and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs))
• environmental monitoring

This EP applies for a period of five years from the date of acceptance.

All producing platforms and the BTW subsea facility are located within the Area to Be Avoided (ATBA) defined under Schedule 2 of the OPGGS Act and administered by NOPSEMA. The ATBA restricts unauthorised vessels over 200t or 24m in length from entering the area. The KPA subsea facility is
located approximately 5km east of the ATBA. A traffic separation scheme operates to the south of the ATBA for coastal shipping, and none of the facilities overlap this area.

A separate five-year EP (Bass Strait Non-Producing EP) covers assets where production has ceased and facilities are in cessation of production or stasis.