Environmental Impact Statement

PART II - Existing Environment

This preface is a guide to Part II of the Papua New Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas Project
Environmental Impact Statement (PNG LNG Project EIS).

Part II of the EIS describes the existing biophysical and social environment in which the PNG LNG project will be built. This characterisation of the project area is the cumulation of over two decades of data gathering in the petroleum region of Papua New Guinea. Prior to the discovery and subsequent development of oil and gas fields in the mid-1980s at Hides and around Kutubu, the Kikori River region was one of the least scientifically known areas on the island of New Guinea. Virtually no biological exploration had been done, and few anthropologists had worked with the major tribal groups of the area.

The establishment of crude oil exports under the Kutubu Petroleum Development Project along with the subsequent feasibility and environmental studies for gas commercialisation in the region brought a rapid expansion of scientific and social exploration and understanding in the form of studies commissioned for industry-specific projects and scientific research performed independently by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and others.

These earlier studies and those specifically carried out for the PNG LNG Project provide a large database of information focused on people and biodiversity conservation for both onshore and offshore environments. This data includes some 5,700 social surveys involving more than 24,000 interviews of local people and representing over 40% of all households in the project area.

Biodiversity occurrence and distribution has been compiled from 59 biodiversity survey reports covering some 78 sites and recording nearly 4,000 locality records of fauna species alone. Over a thousand species of plants were identified during the botanical studies for the PNG LNG Project alone. Overall, some 80 species of vertebrate fauna and higher plants that were new to science have been identified.

This wealth of information from past and current specialist studies (provided as appendices to the EIS or referenced in the EIS) has allowed a comprehensive biophysical and social characterisation of the project environment to be developed in this EIS. Note that, while the WWF and others have generously allowed use of their data, they have not been involved in preparing the EIS and remain neutral parties to the assessment process.

Chapters 10 to 13 characterise the physical, biological and resource use qualities of the four environments that will house project facilities: the upstream onshore, upstream offshore, LNG Facilities site onshore, and LNG Facilities site offshore.

Project-wide cultural heritage sites and artefacts have been described in Chapters 14 (upstream onshore and offshore) and 16 (LNG Facilities onshore and offshore).

Chapters 15 and 17 provide summaries of the extensive social surveys that describe the socioeconomic environment for the upstream and the LNG Facilities, both onshore and offshore.

Technical terms have been avoided as much as possible. The glossary in Chapter 31 defines the terms and abbreviations used in the EIS.

Chapter 11: Receiving Marine Environment: Offshore Pipeline (Full Version 10.2 mb)
(Chapter 11, TEXT ONLY 343 k)
(Fig 11.1, IMAGE ONLY 4.55 mb)
(Fig 11.2, IMAGE ONLY 877 k)
(Fig 11.3, IMAGE ONLY 965 k)
(Fig 11.4, IMAGE ONLY 2.03 mb)
(Fig 11.5, IMAGE ONLY 1.58 mb)
(PLATES ONLY, 11.01-11.03 525 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 11.04-11.06 609 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 11.07-11.09 609 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 11.10-11.11 472 k)

Chapter 12: Receiving Onshore Environment: LNG Facilities (Full Version 25 mb)
(Chapter 12, TEXT ONLY 773 k)
(Fig 12.1, IMAGE ONLY 1.17 mb)
(Fig 12.2, IMAGE ONLY 977 k)
(Fig 12.3, IMAGE ONLY 1.37 mb)
(Fig 12.4, IMAGE ONLY 2.03 mb)
(Fig 12.5, IMAGE ONLY 1.21 mb)
(Fig 12.6, IMAGE ONLY 1.19 mb)
(Fig 12.7, IMAGE ONLY 726 k)
(Fig 12.8, IMAGE ONLY 2.21 mb)
(Fig 12.9, IMAGE ONLY 1.09 mb)
(Fig 12.10, IMAGE ONLY 2.09 mb)
(Fig 12.11, IMAGE ONLY 3.14 mb)
(Fig 12.12, IMAGE ONLY 1.95 mb)
(Fig 12.13, IMAGE ONLY 2.91 mb)
(PLATES ONLY, 12.01-12.03 639 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 12.04-12.06 589 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 12.07-12.09 529 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 12.10-12.12 595 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 12.13-12.15 600 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 12.16-12.18 597 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 12.19-12.21 585 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 12.22-12.23 486 k)

Chapter 13: Receiving Marine Environment: Marine Facilities (Full Version 21.6 mb)
(Chapter 13, TEXT ONLY 616 k)
(Fig 13.1, IMAGE ONLY 3.94 mb)
(Fig 13.2, IMAGE ONLY 2.30 mb)
(Fig 13.3, IMAGE ONLY 2.61 mb)
(Fig 13.4, IMAGE ONLY 762 k)
(Fig 13.5, IMAGE ONLY 3.98 mb)
(Fig 13.6, IMAGE ONLY 2.83 mb)
(Fig 13.7, IMAGE ONLY 449 k)
(Fig 13.8, IMAGE ONLY 423 k)
(Fig 13.9, IMAGE ONLY 542 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 13.01-13.03 628 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 13.04-13.06 643 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 13.07-13.09 662 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 13.10-13.12 593 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 13.13-13.15 608 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 13.16-13.18 541 k)

Chapter 14: Cultural Heritage Environment: Upstream Facilities and Pipelines (Full Version 10.7 mb)
(Chapter 14, TEXT ONLY 278 k)
(Fig 14.1, IMAGE ONLY 1.35 mb)
(Fig 14.2, IMAGE ONLY 1.96 mb)
(Fig 14.3, IMAGE ONLY 1.84 mb)
(Fig 14.4, IMAGE ONLY 1.12 mb)
(Fig 14.5, IMAGE ONLY 818 k)
(Fig 14.6, IMAGE ONLY 1.76 mb)
(Fig 14.7, IMAGE ONLY 1.89 mb)
(Fig 14.8, IMAGE ONLY 1.83 mb)

Chapter 15: Socio-economic Environment: Upstream Facilities and Pipelines (Full Version 6.55 mb)
(Chapter 15, TEXT ONLY 571 k)
(Fig 15.1, IMAGE ONLY 1.99 mb)
(Fig 15.2, IMAGE ONLY 409 k)
(Fig 15.3, IMAGE ONLY 1.31 mb)
(Fig 15.4, IMAGE ONLY 619 k)
(Fig 15.5, IMAGE ONLY 363 k)
(Fig 15.6, IMAGE ONLY 386 k)
(Fig 15.7, IMAGE ONLY 1.89 mb)
(Fig 15.8, IMAGE ONLY 377 k)
(Fig 15.9, IMAGE ONLY 375 k)
(Fig 15.10, IMAGE ONLY 417 k)
(Fig 15.11, IMAGE ONLY 390 k)
(Fig 15.12, IMAGE ONLY 368 k)
(Fig 15.13, IMAGE ONLY 379 k)
(Fig 15.14, IMAGE ONLY 3.61 k)
(Fig 15.15, IMAGE ONLY 429 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 15.01-15.03 509 k)

Chapter 16: Cultural Heritage Environment: LNG and Marine Facilities (Full Version 7.76 mb)
(Chapter 16, TEXT ONLY 233 k)
(Fig 16.1, IMAGE ONLY 2.48 mb)
(Fig 16.2, IMAGE ONLY 824 k)
(Fig 16.3, IMAGE ONLY 935 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 16.01-16.03 575 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 16.04-16.06 622 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 16.07-16.09 526 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 16.10-16.12 545 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 16.13-16.15 541 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 16.16 386 k)

Chapter 17: Socio-economic Environment: LNG Facilities (Full Version 4.96 mb)
(Chapter 17, TEXT ONLY 286 k)
(Fig 17.1, IMAGE ONLY 2.18 mb)
(Fig 17.2, IMAGE ONLY 378 k)
(Fig 17.3, IMAGE ONLY 714 k)
(Fig 17.4, IMAGE ONLY 715 k)
(Fig 17.5, IMAGE ONLY 848 k)
(Fig 17.6, IMAGE ONLY 397 k)
(Fig 17.7, IMAGE ONLY 376 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 17.01-17.03 536 k)
(PLATES ONLY, 17.04-17.05 437 k)