Environmental Baseline Survey, Block DWOB– South Africa – 2022 – TotalEnergies E&P South Africa B.V.

Sampling event
Latest version published by TotalEnergies on Mar 6, 2024 TotalEnergies
Publication date:
6 March 2024
Published by:
TotalEnergies
License:
CC-BY-NC 4.0

Download the latest version of this resource data as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) or the resource metadata as EML or RTF:

Data as a DwC-A file download 110 records in English (51 KB) - Update frequency: unknown
Metadata as an EML file download in English (15 KB)
Metadata as an RTF file download in English (11 KB)

Description

TotalEnergies E&P South Africa (TEEPSA) contracted Benthic Solutions Limited (BSL) for the provision of an Environmental Baseline Study (EBS) within Block DWOB located off the west coast of South Africa. Survey operations within Block DWOB were carried out aboard the supply vessel Bourbon Evolution 807 from the 12th of October 2022 to the 7th of November 2022. Environmental operations were conducted across the survey area to gather information on the physico-chemical and biological environment prior to drilling activities. Block DWOB is located in an area that extends roughly from 160 to 350 km along the continental slope to deep bathyal plain. Water depth in the survey area ranges from approximately from 800m to over 3,400m below sea level. The sampling strategy was designed by BSL and Creocean to follow TEEPSA set investigation targets and station selection rationale. The sampling plan consisted of sediment and water column sampling combined with seabed video acquisition in order to provide a greater understanding of the regional seabed habitats. Opportunistic marine megafauna observations were also to be undertaken during the survey to provide an understanding of the marine mammal communities present in the Block. This survey included characterisation of the seabed and water column physico-chemistry and biology, as well as, opportunistic observations of marine megafauna by marine mammal observations (MMO) and passive acoustic monitoring (PAM), to provide an understanding of the baseline conditions prior to commencing further drilling and development activities. The main objectives for the survey were to: • Acquire baseline data of sediment and water column physico-chemical characteristics within the survey area. • Identify and assess any existing pollutants within the sediment and the water column, in particular, those related to oil and gas activities within the survey area. • Identify sensitive habitats or species susceptible to disturbance from drilling and construction related activities. • Establish an understanding of the natural variation in environmental conditions against which the environmental impact of future oil and gas operations can be assessed. The sampling plan consisted of sediment and water column sampling combined with seabed video acquisition to provide a greater understanding of the regional seabed habitats. Opportunistic marine megafauna observations were also undertaken during the survey to provide an understanding of the marine mammal communities present in the Block. Based on time constraints as a result of weather, the survey strategy was continually modified to acquire data for priority areas, or areas with no previous data, as agreed with the client.

Data Records

The data in this sampling event resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 110 records.

1 extension data tables also exist. An extension record supplies extra information about a core record. The number of records in each extension data table is illustrated below.

Event (core)
110
Occurrence 
982

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

Versions

The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is TotalEnergies. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC 4.0) License.

GBIF Registration

This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 837f9d11-3829-48a7-a7e0-f50b36aa1dbe.  TotalEnergies publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by GBIF France.

Keywords

Samplingevent; TotalEnergies; TEEPSA; Block 5/6/7; South Africa; EBS; 2022; Marine mama; benthic; Zooplankton; phytoplankton

Contacts

TotalEnergies EP South Africa B.V.
  • Originator
TotalEnergies EP South Africa B.V.
3rd Floor – Tygervalley Chambers 2 27 Willie Van Schoor Avenue, Bellville 7530 -– South Africa
7530 Bellville
Bellville
ZA
+27210034060
Khuliso Mudau
  • Point Of Contact
Environmental Coordinator
TotalEnergies EP South Africa B.V.
3rd Floor – Tygervalley Chambers 2 27 Willie Van Schoor Avenue
7530 Bellville
Bellville
+27210034060
Delsy Sifundza
  • User
Biodiversity Coordinator
TotalEnergies EP South Africa B.V.
3rd Floor – Tygervalley Chambers 2 27 Willie Van Schoor Avenue, Bellville 7530 -– South Africa
7530 Bellville
Bellville
ZA
+27210034060

Geographic Coverage

Within Block 5/6/7 (off the southwest coast of South Africa)

Bounding Coordinates South West [-90, -180], North East [90, 180]

Taxonomic Coverage

N/A

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Testudines, Cetartiodactyla
Family Balaenopteridae, Physeteridae, Cheloniidae

Temporal Coverage

Start Date / End Date 2022-10-19 / 2022-11-07

Project Data

Within Block DWOB (off the west coast of South Africa) : Macrobanthic infauna, Marine mammal observations, Passive acoustic monitoring, Abundances and biovolumes of phytoplankton and zooplancton collected by nets

Title Environmental Baseline Study, Block DWOB South Africa – 2022 – TotalEnergies E&P South Africa (TEEPSA)
Funding TotalEnergies E&P South Africa (TEEPSA) contracted Benthic Solutions Limited (BSL) for the provision of an Environmental Baseline Study (EBS) within Block DWOB located off the west coast of South Africa.
Study Area Description Survey operations within Block DWOB were carried out aboard the supply vessel Bourbon Evolution 807 from the 12th of October 2022 to the 7th of November 2022. Environmental operations were conducted across the survey area to gather information on the physico-chemical and biological environment prior to drilling activities. Block DWOB is located in an area that extends roughly from 160 to 350 km along the continental slope to deep bathyal plain. Water depth in the survey area ranges from approximately from 800m to over 3,400m below sea level.
Design Description he sampling strategy was designed by BSL and Creocean to follow TEEPSA set investigation targets and station selection rationale. The sampling plan consisted of sediment and water column sampling combined with seabed video acquisition in order to provide a greater understanding of the regional seabed habitats. Opportunistic marine megafauna observations were also to be undertaken during the survey to provide an understanding of the marine mammal communities present in the Block.

Additional Metadata