APPEA says oil and gas production in the Great Australian Bight would provide an economic boon for SA
OIL and gas production in the Great Australian Bight would provide an economic boon for South Australia, matching the 50-year stimulus delivered by the Bass Strait fields to south-eastern Australia, according to the state’s chief industry representative.
OIL and gas production in the Great Australian Bight would provide an economic boon for South Australia, matching the 50-year stimulus delivered by the Bass Strait fields to south-eastern Australia, according to the state’s chief industry representative.
Speaking at the South Australian Major Projects Conference in Adelaide today, Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) director SA & NT Matthew Doman said drilling in the Bight was “the big opportunity” for the oil and gas sector in South Australia, suggesting its potential benefits remained largely unknown.
“The industry believes that the resources in the Great Australian Bight could be comfortably equivalent or greater than those in Bass Strait, which has contributed very significantly to the economic strength of Victoria and Tasmania for many years since production began there in the 1960s,” he said.
“So if that were to come to pass we would see a very significant stimulus towards South Australia’s economic growth.
“There is no doubt that in the recent public discussion, there hasn’t been a clear focus on the economic benefits or the energy benefits of developing those resources.”
According to consultants ACIL Allen, the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture - by far the biggest producer in Bass Strait - produced 4.7 billion barrels of oil in that area from 1967 to 2015, and 8 trillion cubic feet of gas.
In that time, it generated gross revenue of more than $144 billion and paid more than $89 billion in Australian excises, royalties and taxes.
Norwegian oil company Equinor plans to commence drilling in the Bight at the end of next year, after energy giants BP and Chevron shelved their plans in 2016 and 2017.
Other companies including Karoon Oil, Bight Petroleum and Murphy Oil also hold exploration permits in the area.
In 2016, consultants Wood Mackenzie estimated the region contained a potential resource of 1.9 billion barrels of oil, worth close to $175 billion at current prices.
Speaking to The Advertiser on the sidelines of yesterday’s conference, Mr Doman said the industry was committed to winning over community support despite fierce opposition led by local councils and environmental groups including the Wilderness Society.
“There’s a lot of people in those communities - in Port Lincoln, Ceduna and other areas - who are very supportive of our industry and see the opportunity for us to contribute alongside existing industries, to growing those regions,” he said.
“Of course it has to be done in an environmentally safe manner, we have to make sure there’s no negative impact on existing industries or coastal communities - we’re committed to doing that.
“And if you look at our industry around Australia, we haven’t seen negative impacts in the Bass Strait, we haven’t seen negative impacts in the North West Shelf - we’ve seen just the opposite.”
Mr Doman said the broader oil and gas industry needed to improve its response to “orchestrated, carefully planned and well funded” campaigns from international environmental groups who opposed new developments.
“There has been a concerted campaign to scare and misinform the community over the impacts of our industry,” he said.
“Exaggerated claims of community opposition to our industry when there’s clear evidence of very close collaboration between us and farm owners, local businesses and the broader community.
“Most disturbingly, these campaigns do have an impact, and the grossly exaggerated claims of environmental contamination have been very hard for our industry to respond to - we need to do a better job of that.”