Row over drilling in U Dehing RF : Environment vs exploration

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The Sentinel, Guwahati, 07, 2005

( www.sentinelassam.com)

Part I

By our Staff Reporter

DIBRUGARH, July 6: In view of the growing controversy surrounding

the activities of Premier Oil (British Oil Company) in the Upper

Dehing Reserve Forest region of Upper Assam, The Sentinel approached

the company and different environmental organizations to find out

the truth regarding the matter. The following is an account of the

emerging debate between those who support oil exploration as a

developmental programme which will benefit the people of the region,

and those who consider such exploration as a vital threat to the

environment. In an exclusive interaction, this correspondent

directly contacted the Primer Oil's Country Manager at Delhi, Rob

Marshall, and the Environmental Advisor, Mangesh Dakhore, to find

out the multinational oil firm's reaction to the allegations

levelled against it by organizations like Nature's Beckon, which has

been staging dharnas and demonstrations against the alleged

destruction of the rainforests.

 

Allegations of the environmental groups

 

1. Premier Oil Company, in a joint venture with three other oil

companies — Oil India Limited, Indian Oil Corporation Limited and

Hindustan Oil Exploration Company — is destroying the most important

biodiversity zone of Assam in the name of exploration and natural

gas inside the continguous rainforests of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia

districts. Premier Oil is carrying out exploraiton work in 4.3

hectares of land in the Upper Dehing Reserve Forest. It is the

biggest and contiguous patch of rainforest in Brahmaputra Valley,

which is still surviving. These forests exist as a contiguous patch

covering an area of approximately 800 sq km and known as the Joypur

Reserve Forest, Upper Dihing Reserve Forest and Dirak Reserve Forest

in Assam. Environmentalists maintain that it is a single forest.

 

The exploration work is posing a threat to this important

biodiversity zone. These rainforests harbour a wide range of flora

an fauna, some of which are endemic and endangered. This

biodervisity hot spot is home to many endangered species like the

Chinese Pangolin, Asiatic Black Bear, Malayan Sun Bear, etc. It is

also the most important primate habitat of India and harbours as

many as seven species of primates, namely Hoolock Gibbon, Slow

Loris, Capped Langur, Pigtailed Macaque, Assamese Macaque, Rhesus

Macaque and Stumptailed Macaque. Except for Rhesus Macaque, the

other six species found in India, has their largest concentration in

these rainforests. It is being alleged that the vibration (sound

pollution) caused due to exploration work is affecting the breathing

as well as the mating process of the Hoolock Gibbon.

 

2. According to environmental groups, the rainforests are also major

elephant habitats and has been declared as the Dehing Patkai

Elephant Reserve under the Government Notification No. FRW-

44/2002/67 dated April 17, 2003. The Joypur, Upper Dihing and Dirak

Reserve Forest is the most important habitat of the Asian Elephant.

This forest range also provides corridor for the movement of large

herds of elephants form Assam to Arunachal Pradesh. The activities

of Premier Oil Company have severely disturbed the movement of wild

elephants inside the rainforest. Their food and habitat is also

being affected and the vibration is causing a lot of problems.

Consequently, the elephants are moving out of the forest and

destroying agricultural fields and human habitat in and around the

forest. This is leading to man-elephant conflict. It is also a big

blow to the Govenment of India's Elephant Conservation Project.

 

3. It is to be noted that the area has also been included as an

Important Bird Area (IBA) site by the Bombay Natural History Society

(BNHS), Bird Life International and the Government of India. The

rainforest is home to more than 300 species of birds. Twenty eight

species are endangered and are Red Data Book candidate species. It

is home to the very rare and endemic species — the White-winged Wood

Duck. It is also said to be the only bird habitat of India which

accommodates as many as five species of Hornbill. In order to

carryout drilling work, around 500-600 trees have been felled thus

destroying the `canopy layer' and tree trunks. The `canopy layer' of

the multistructural rainforest is formed by flat crowned trees, 65

to 100 feet above the ground. Canopy trees turn bright sunlight into

energy for growth, flowering and bearing fruit. Frugivorous birds

are being affected and also mating is being disturbed.

 

4. It is being said that Premier Oil has violated the May 15, 2000

Cartagena Protocol on Biodiversity to the Convention on Biologial

Diversity Treaty and the company has destroyed the habitat of the

wild animals which goes against the India Wildlife Conservation Act.

The activities of Premier Oil Compay, it is being alleged, are

totally against the national and international wildlife conservation

laws and are in violation of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act.

 

5. Controversy surrounds a 9 km approach road, having 45 feet width,

which has been constructed inside the virgin forest after massive

deforestation to facilitate drilling work which is underway in the

Lakhi-1 site inside the rainforest. This, it is being asserted, has

destroyed the most important habitat of Hoolock Gibbon, the only ape

species found in India. They are also destroying the bio-diversity.

Nature's Beckon, a leading environmentalist group of the region, has

alleged that all these activities are going on right under the very

nose of the Digboi Forest Division.

 

6. Premier Oil has not obtained the Pollution Control Board

permission. To get the nod of Pollution Control Board, public

hearing is mandatory, and there can be no public hearing in the case

of Reserve Forest. No compensatory afforestation has been done.

 

7. Out of the 500 sq km proposed Joyaming wildlide Sanctuary, 111.19

sq km has been declared as the Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary.

Premier Oil is carrying out exploration work in the Dehing Patkai

Reserve. In 1999, a separate notification had been issued (dated

June 21, 1999) under the title of Environmental (Sitting for

Industrial Projects) Rules, 1999. These latest sets of rules

prohibit setting up industries within a 25 km belt around

sanctuaries and national parks. Dehing Patkai was declared Reserve

Forest on June 19, 2000. The land (where exploration is being

carried out) was transferred to the company by the Digboi Division

of the State Forest Department on February 18, 2005. This itself is

self-explanatory vis-a-vis the illegal deal. Under no circumstances,

the oil company can get the required permission to operate inside

such an important biodiversity-rich zone.

 

8. Premier Oil has not undertaken any Environment Impact Assessment

(EIA) report although there is a strict stipulation that for any

kind of exploration work, EIA study is mandatory. An EIA

notification was issued by the Government of India in Jaunary 27,

1994 and later amended on May 4, 1994 under the Environment Act and

Rules of 1986. The said notification states that any person desirous

to undertake a new project or expansion or modernization of any

existing project, Scheduled I of the notification shall have to

submit an application projecting the present status of the area

(land use, pollution source, PA system, climate, water balance and

quality, noise level, power availability, etc.) and also proposed

rehabilitation plan for borrow area, forest, possible change in air

quality, quantum of waste water, solid waste disposal system, number

of village to be rehabilitated, etc. The application is to be

accompanied by (i) Project Report, (ii) EIA Report, (iii)

Environmental Mangement Plan and Risk Assessment Report and Disaster

Management Plan. The EIA notification further clarified that in case

of mining, the project authorities should obtain prior approval for

site clearance. This rule is more stringent in the case of mining or

oil drilling activities.

 

9. Water bodies form a vital part of the eco-system; streams in

forests mostly serve as waterholes for wildlife. But, inside the

rainforest of Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary, Premier Oil Company

has blocked and diverted the natural flow of steams, thus affecting

the ecological balance. The multinational oil firm has also dumped

poisonous non-biodergradable effluents in the forest. Whenever there

is rain, the effluents will spread and pollute the soil of a vast

area. Further growth of vegetation will be affected. The company has

also removed the top soil of the forest land. Assam, being a

globally acknowledged econological hotspot, has high prospects to be

developed as `the destination' of eco-tourism. The ecology altering

work carreid by the Premier Oil will once, and for all, snuff out

any future hopes of developing a flourish eco-tourism industry in

Assam.

 

Part II

Premier Oil's reply to the allegations:

 

Rob Marshall, Premier Oil's Country Manager, in the telephonic

conversation, quipped, " We are causing no pollution. " In the faxed

fact sheet, Marshall stated that the joint venture of Premier Oil

with Oil India Limited (OIL), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)

and Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (HOEC) has complied with all

Central and State Governments regulations. All necessary permission

and approval have been obtained. The Central Govenment approval was

granted in the form of Production-Sharing Contract for Block AAP-ON-

94/1 that covers areas in Upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The

Governments of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have issued Petroleum

Exploration Licences covering the area of Block AAP-ON-94/1. The

Assam Ministry of Environment and Forest recommended diversion of

4.3 hectares of land for the project, which was approved by the

Central Government. The Pollution Control Board of Assam has granted

the necessary No Objection Certificate and Consent to Operate under

Section 25/26 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution)

Act, 1974. Officials from both Central and State governments have

inspected the operation from time to time. The partners of the

venture do recognize their corporate social responsibility towards a

diverse group of stakeholders that includes local communities and

society at large. Various social welfare programmes have already

been completed and more are on the offing. In addition, Premier Oil

is supporting the new Joint Forest Management initiative for forest

conservation through community involvement in some nearby areas.

 

The Premier Oil fact sheet further mentions that operations are

being carried out to the highest environmental standards. Some of

the methods being used to protect the environment are:

 

* Prior to commencing operations, an Environmental Impact Assessment

(EIA) was carried out by Gauhati University and, subsequently, an

Environmental Mangement Plan (EMP) was developed. These were

submitted to the State Pollution Control Board and all necessary

approvals have been granted and the recommendations are being

implemented. Scientists from Gauhati University are visiting the

site regularly to monitor operations.

 

* The minimum possible area is being used for the operation.

Usually, a rig site requires more than 2 hectares, but, this site is

only 1.2 hectares.

 

* To minimize felling of trees, the well is being drilled

directionally underground, at additional cost.

 

* Special non-toxic drilling fluid has been selected. An advanced

treatment plant has been imported from Dubai to ensure that no

impurities can get into the forest.

 

* All waste materials from the rig site are being segregated and

taken to proper waste disposal sites outiside of the forest.

 

* The site has a properly designed drainage system to ensure that

the rainwater run-off cannot become dirty or polluted.