Apache has an exceptional record of environmental management in Australia since commencing operations in Western Australia in 1993 and has received numerous awards for excellence in environmental management for its oil and gas activities within and adjacent to environmentally sensitive areas. Apache’s commitment to the environment is outlined in its Environmental Management Policy.

The hub of Apache’s activities on the North West Shelf is located within a lease on Varanus Island, which is designated as a nature reserve. The marine waters surrounding the offshore facilities associated with this oil and gas hub are within or adjacent to the Montebello/Barrow Islands Marine Conservation Reserve. Apache also produces oil from two manned offshore platforms, Stag and Ocean Legend, approximately 85 kilometers (km) and 158 km to the north of Varanus Island.  In addition, Apache is progressing a new gas development, south of Karratha on the mainland of Western Australia and an oil development near the Exmouth region of Western Australia.

Managing Apache’s activities in an environmentally responsible way within these sensitive areas is critical to Apache’s long-term success. Apache’s oil and gas activities undergo extensive environmental risk assessments in order to identify risks to the environment as well as identify the management measures necessary to reduce these risks to an acceptable level.  The outcomes from this process and Apache’s commitments concerning environmental matters are implemented through Environmental Management Plans, which are legally binding under various Australian petroleum and environmental legislation.

Environmental monitoring programmes are an essential part of Apache’s activities. Monitoring and research programmes carried out by Apache in the North West Shelf region include:

• Migratory seabirds such as terns, resident seabirds, wedge-tailed shearwaters and ospreys
• Migratory sea turtles such as the hawksbill, flatback and green turtles
• Seabed habitats and communities including coral, limestone pavement, seaweed and soft-sediments
• Mangroves
• Plant communities
• Ground water
• Marine water quality
• Impact of produced formation water from Harriet Alpha platform, Varanus Island hub
• Participation in the Scientific and Environmental ROV Partnership using Existing Industrial Technology (SERPENT) programme, using ROVs on drilling rigs to explore the sea floor
• Financial support to the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) for research on the whale sharks of Ningaloo

Apache is also a participant in the Australian Government's Energy Efficiency Opportunities program. The first public report summarises the assessments undertaken to date: Apache Energy's Energy Efficiency Opportunities Report