Environmental Baseline Survey and Post-Drill Environmental Survey, Offshore, Namibia - 2022 - TotalEnergies E&P Namibia

TotalEnergies E&P Namibia (TEEPNA) contracted Benthic Solutions Limited (BSL) for the provision of a regional campaign of Environmental Baseline Studies (EBS) within Block 2913B located off the southwest coast of Namibia. Survey operations were carried out between the 7th September and the 30th September 2022. Environmental operations were conducted to gather information on the physico-chemical and biological environment. The water depth in the survey area ranged from approximately 2,500m to over 3,200m below sea level. This survey included characterisation of the seabed, including Benthic macrofauna, and water column biology (microbiology), 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 further activities. The main objectives for surveying within Block 2913B were to: • Acquire baseline data of sediment and water column physico-chemical characteristics; • Identify and assess any existing pollutants within the sediment and the water column, in particular, those related to oil and gas activities. • Identify sensitive habitats or species susceptible to disturbance from drilling related activities The sampling strategy was designed by BSL and Creocean to follow TEEPNA 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. Block 2913B sampling locations were assigned prioritised rankings consisting of the development area, the priority area and the secondary area. Consideration was given to areas of interest, a proposed protected area and possible underwater infrastructure. Stations were positioned in equidistant locations forming a grid pattern across the block, distances between stations varied in each area. The development area consisted of 17 sampling locations based primarily on a separation of 3.6km in the horizontal plane and 3.7km in the vertical plane. The priority area consisted of 23 stations that were positioned based primarily on a separation of 12.5km in the horizontal plane and 12km in the vertical plane. The secondary area consisted of 12 sampling locations separated by approximately 12.2km in the horizontal plane and 15.1km in the vertical plane. The priority area (including the well sites) was situated within the development area, so any sampling stations with similar positions were re-located to maximise the data coverage of the priority area. A total of eight stations were revisited from historical sampling. Stations selected to sample the water column were situated across the Block to provide the best geographical coverage of the water spatial profile. Survey operations were conducted during period of workable weather windows. Additionally, the weather forecast during the operations in block 2912 were from good weather to marginally high seas, allowing the scope of operations to be completed with no attributed stand-by weather.