Recommendations of marine seismic survey regulatory laws for the oil and gas industry in Malaysia

Malaysia’s marine sector contributes a significant portion to the economic development of the country. The offshore petroleum industry has significant benefit to the economy, however, the downside of seismic exploration has left detrimental effects on marine mammals. In seeking the equilibrium between economic growth and ecological safeguard, Malaysia has to cope with stringent measures in seismic and geophysical exploration to abide with world standards in marine mammal conservation. Oil and gas seismic survey employs sound-producing seismic techniques and relies heavily on sound waves which penetrate through, and are reflected from, seabed structures prospecting for oil reserves. For discovering, evaluating and producing crude and gas, there are no realistic alternatives other than seismic exploration, however there may be other alternatives to further ameliorate the technical aspects of seismic survey and mitigation procedures. Scientific knowledge of the impacts of seismic sound has expanded significantly in the last two decades as the issue has gained public attention and research prioritization, however it is not practiced in Malaysia. This thesis intends to present information on seismic survey regulating guidelines to propose on the improvement to PETRONAS seismic geophysical exploration by examining critical International Laws / National Laws and Policies together with in-depth interviews with stakeholders from PETRONAS Dalak Project benefiting both PETRONAS and the community at large. In this epistemological research, it was found that PETRONAS should demonstrate a regulatory approach that includes a prudent balance of prescriptive and performance-based regulations that are developed using the best practices of geophysical survey with international benchmarks while enhancing and continuously improving the petroleum industry's environmental performance towards marine mammal mitigation preparedness