The Spill Contingency Plan addresses the machinery and procedures to confine and remove a discharge in the unlikely event that a discharge occurs. A spill could consist of either hydrocarbons or of drilling fluid and associated chemicals during normal drilling and testing operations. It is stated that NZ Petroleum Company Ltd. consider all spills resulting from their oil exploration operations to be a hazard. It is also their intention to take every precaution such that any discharge has the minimum effect on the environment.