Joint oil spill response exercise demonstrates Esso’s emergency response capabilities

Lakes Entrance is a significant area for our business, as that’s the nearest large town to our oil and gas facilities in the Bass Strait. 

The purpose of the exercise was to test the implementation of our tactical response plans that are in place in the unlikely event of an incident from our offshore facilities.

Around 30 people participated in the exercise including a range of industry representatives from the petroleum industry, AMOSC, Gippsland Ports and government observers. The exercise was prepared in conjunction with Gippsland Ports, Parks Victoria and East Gippsland Shire council to ensure we minimised any disruption to the public and port operations, and that activities were carried out safely

During the course of the exercise, teams deployed a variety of oil spill response equipment, such as booms and skimmers at Lake Bunga and Lakes Entrance, as well as using vehicles on the beach to move equipment and supervise the exercise. An Incident Management Team, based in Melbourne, simulated coordination of field activities and also prepared incident action plans for the following day

The exercise successfully demonstrated Esso’s ability to coordinate and safely implement response tactics using our own resources alongside those of AMOSC and Gippsland Ports. The exercise also identified some opportunities to improve communications and potential equipment upgrades and/or modifications.

As an organisation, Esso places great emphasis on being prepared to respond quickly and effectively to mitigate the impacts of any incidents.

While we manage our business with the goal of preventing incidents, undertaking exercises such as these together with our stakeholders ensures we’re continuously improving our joint emergency response capabilities.