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Equinor ditches Great Australian Bight drilling plan
PROJECTS & COMPANIES
NORWEGIAN developer Equinor has aban- doned plans to explore offshore South Australia in the deep waters of the Great Australian Bight.
Equinor said in a February 24 statement that a review of its exploration portfolio had revealed that the South Australian project’s potential was not competitive compared to other upstream opportunities. The news comes after offshore regulator National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) approved the company’s deepwa- ter drilling plan in December.
Equinor had intended to drill the Stromlo-1 well in EPP39, which the company operates in conjunction with the adjacent EPP40. The well was to be located 372km south of the coast and 476km west of Port Lincoln. NOPSEMA’s approval followed two requests by the regulator for modifications to the plan.
“The approval of the Stromlo-1 exploration well environment plan confirmed our ability to safely operate in the Bight. However, Equinor has decided to discontinue its plans to drill the Stromlo-1explorationwell,astheopportunityis not commercially competitive,” Equinor’s coun- try manager, Jone Stangeland, said this week.
The developer said it had informed the fed- eral and state governments about its decision and that it would engage with authorities regard- ing the move to discontinue exploration. Stan- geland said the company would maintain other
ongoing interests and activities in Australia, including at its exploration permit offshore Western Australia.
Equinor is the third international oil com- pany (IOC) to call a halt to exploration efforts in the Bight, after BP suspended its own plans in 2016 and Chevron followed suit in 2017.
Australian Resources Minister Keith Pitt expressed his disappointment about Equinor’s decision, saying that it would be “particu- larly hard for South Australia”. He said: “The Bight Basin remains one of Australia’s frontier basins and any proposals for new oil and gas fields in this area will be assessed fairly and independently.”
The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association’s (APPEA) director South Australia, Matthew Doman, said on Feb- ruary 25 that exploration success in the Bight could have eased Australia’s reliance on imported oil. He said: “Successful development could also boost our energy security. Australia’s oil produc- tion has fallen significantly over the last 10 years, andwenowimportover80%oftheoilweuse.”
Doman added: “A 2018 study by ACIL Allen found successful oil exploration in the Great Australian Bight could see the creation of more than 2,000 jobs in South Australia and generate over AUD7bn [$4.6bn] in average annual tax revenue to federal and state governments over the next four decades.”™
APPEA urges Victoria to lift onshore exploration ban
POLICY
THE Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) has thrown its support behind the Victorian State Opposi- tion’s call to lift the state’s ban on conventional onshore natural gas development.
Victoria has banned all convention and unconventional gas exploration, though restric- tions on the former are due to expire on June 30 and the state government may choose to extend the deadline.
APPEA CEO Andrew McConville described the ban on February 24 as “politically motivated” and said that if it remained in place the state’s res- idential and commercial gas buyers would con- tinue to bear the “cost burden”.
“Natural gas will continue to be a sig- nificant source of energy for Victoria for decades ahead, and a sensible position on onshore resource development is needed for all Victorians,” McConville said. “Around 80% of all Victorian homes are connected to natural gas, and thousands of jobs in the state’s manufacturing sector depend on reli- able gas supply.”
Victoria’s Liberal opposition leader, Michael O’Brien, said on February 14 that while Victoria needs to embrace onshore and offshore gas explo- ration the fracking ban should remain in place.
“As a former Minister for Energy and Resources, we don’t need fracking in
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 08 26•February•2020