Gorgon Project on Barrow Island

Barrow Island has a unique place in Western Australia’s history, geography and social development. Barrow Island is located in the Carnarvon Basin, 55kms off the North West coast of Western Australia; it is one of the last remainders of what Australia was like prior to European invasion. On the 18th February 1910 it was proclaimed a “permanent reserve class A for the protection of flora and fauna” under the Permanent Reserves Act 1899. Barrow Island has internationally significant biodiversity values, with an exceptional range of flora and fauna, marine ecosystems and karst systems; it is one of the largest land masses in the world that has no introduced animals. Barrow Island is best known for its abundant mammals, rich bird and reptile fauna, unique and valuable assemblage of subterranean animals, and valuable vegetation communities. It is considered by many to be a priceless jewel in our natural heritage. The fragility of the habitat on Barrow Island is preserved only by its isolation which will indisputably come to an end if the current cautious low-key WAPET operations are scaled up to a full scale concentration camp, environmentalists believe this will

As an economist I support the government’s decision to go ahead with the project. Barrow Island is the closest landfill to the Gorgon gas with safe access to water and effectively manageable premises that are relatively flat already Gorgon is able to develop the land with minimal impact on residential areas. The area also provides unique opportunities for reinjection that is close to an existing infrastructure that contains already establishes logistics that can eliminate flaring. Gorgon will minimise impact on the surrounding environment by avoiding areas of high conservation value, minimising discharge, minimising use of resources through high thermal efficiency and adopting technologies which reduce emissions and minimise environmental impact as much as possible. Gorgon also has proven technical and management skills for safe, efficient and environmentally responsible development. Gorgon Venture is committed to bringing the best technology and experience available to ensure the resource is developed in an environmentally responsible manner under sustainable development principles. Preserving Barrow Islands legacy has been an integral part of oilfield operations and Gorgon has applied this dedication to its projects on Barrow Island in the past. The Gorgon Venture recognises the importance of the conservation values of Barrow Island to the community and has only selected a location after exhaustive study and evaluation work showed that there are no economically viable and environmentally acceptable alternatives. They have chosen to develop at Town Point Site because of the significantly lower level of environmental impact and safe and practical marine operating conditions. The loss of species, populations or genetic diversity on Barrow Island through impacts beyond the plant site are not considered to be high risk and can be avoided through the adoption and implementation of strict environmental mitigation and management measures. A significant benefit of Barrow Island is that it provides a unique opportunity to permanently dispose of resovoir CO2; this enables Gorgon to be one of the most greenhouse efficient projects of its kind in the world. Not developing Gorgon would result in a lost opportunity to capture the economic, social, strategic and net conservation benefits described throughout this essay.

2. Examine the positive and negative externalities being encountered.

The development will project National, State and Regional Economic benefits by increasing general economic growth, sustaining regional development and increasing competition in domestic gas markets. Gross Domestic Product will increase by an average of $5.6 billion per year as a distinct result of the Gorgon Gas Development. As is illustrated, it would generate economic benefits for the nation, driven by the export income that the development would produce, the amount of money spent in the local economy and the taxes paid by the participants, businesses and individuals. The real

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