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EnerGeo Alliance Positions

Environment & Science

Cumulative Impacts:
EnerGeo acknowledges the consideration of cumulative impacts as an important component of environmental assessment and environmental decision-making.
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Dolphins & Shutdowns:
EnerGeo Alliance does not support dolphin shutdown requirements and encourages exemptions for all dolphin species, regardless of whether an animal is attempting to bow-ride.
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Seismic & Fisheries:
Marine seismic surveys have been conducted since the 1950s, and experience shows that fisheries and seismic activities can and do coexist. There has been no observation of direct physical injury or death to free-ranging fish caused by seismic survey activity.
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Precaution and The Precautionary Principle:
EnerGeo Alliance recognizes the complexities and uncertainties inherent in marine environmental management and supports appropriate measures to minimize potential and actual risks.
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Zooplankton and Geophysical Surveys:
EnerGeo recognizes the ecological importance of zooplankton as a foundational component of marine food webs and supports continued scientific research into the potential effects of underwater sound on lower trophic level organisms.
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Operations & Mitigation

Mitigation Measures:
Mitigation measures are implemented to reduce real threats to marine species. The EnerGeo Alliance supports seismic survey mitigation measures that are grounded in the best available science and consistent with existing practices that are proven to be effective and operationally feasible.
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Duplicative Surveys:
Adequate imaging of the subsurface in order to identify potential resources and de-risk any subsequent activities such as drilling or the development of infrastructure relies upon the acquisition of a variety of data types at different depths and levels of detail (resolution).
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Time Sharing:
EnerGeo Alliance has established time sharing best practices to provide guidance to the energy geoscience industry for efficiently and effectively engaging in time sharing when marine seismic crews are in close proximity of each other and are faced with potential seismic interference, environmental restrictions, adverse weather, permit restrictions, or other similar obstacles that may impede simultaneous operations.
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Vessel Beaching:
Vessel beaching—the intentional grounding of a ship on a beach or shoreline for dismantling and recycling—is a common method for decommissioning end-of-life vessels.
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Vessel Separation Distances:
Various countries have proposed draft regulations requiring minimum separation distances or “buffer zones” between seismic survey vessels as a purported mitigation tool that would create corridors for marine mammals to travel.
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Lowest Practicable Source Levels (LPSL):
Recent discussions have increasingly focused on designing geophysical surveys to operate using the “lowest practicable source level,” often through reductions in parameters such as total array air volume.
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Exclusion Zones:
EnerGeo supports the use of exclusion zones as part of effective, science-based mitigation for offshore seismic survey operations.
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Technology

Sustainability

The Energy Geoscience and Exploration Industry’s Role in the Energy Evolution:
Energy geoscience is foundational to all energy systems, supporting not only the responsible development of hydrocarbons, but also enabling the expansion of other energy sources, critical minerals, and carbon management solutions.
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Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage:
(CCUS) is a suite of technologies through which carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from manmade or anthropogenic point sources can be re-used productively or stored so that they do not enter the atmosphere.
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EnerGeo Alliance Industry ESG Statement:
The success and growth of the energy geoscience industry is dependent on EnerGeo Alliance members conducting operations in a responsible, sustainable and transparent manner.
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Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) from Marine Geophysical Operations:
Marine geophysical operations are carried out to explore for hydrocarbons, delineate Exclusive Economic Zones, survey the seabed for the placement of infrastructure (e.g. wind turbines) as well as identify and monitor carbon capture and storage facilities. Such operations are a key first stage in the development of both hydrocarbon-based and alternative energy developments in the marine environment. As with any industrial activity, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions result from powering the specialized vessels required to carry out these operations, and vessel activities are the main contributors in calculating the sector’s overall GHG emissions.

Last updated 17 June 2026