Both sides claim victory as government, greens clash over Beetaloo
A battle over one of Australia’s biggest untapped gas provinces has seen green groups trumpet a legal win even though ongoing drilling was given the green light.
A battle within one of Australia’s biggest untapped gas provinces has seen green groups trumpet a legal win in voiding government grants for exploration even though Resources Minister Keith Pitt declared a “green light” for ongoing drilling.
Lawyers for an environmental group had claimed Mr Pitt had failed to consider the climate implications of a $21m grant for oil and gas exploration in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin, meaning the commitment was invalid.
While their argument on climate grounds failed, the Federal Court ruled on Thursday that the grant to Imperial Oil and Gas – a subsidiary of ASX-listed Empire Energy – was not valid and unreasonable as it occurred while legal proceedings were under way.
The court case had been closely watched and seen as a potential landmark legal challenge, given a win by the Environment Centre NT would have put a greater onus on ministers and departments to consider the climate implications of their funding decisions.
The Environmental Defenders Office, acting for the Environment Centre NT, said it was a blow for the government but conceded the climate argument had fallen short. “The findings reinforced that federal ministers have a legal obligation to make reasonable inquiries about the proper use of public money when making funding decisions of this nature,” EDO director of legal strategy Elaine Johnson said.
“In this case, the court found those reasonable inquiries didn’t extend to climate risk given the project does not involve extensive gas extraction and production. Importantly, the door has been left open for climate risks to be considered in other decisions around the use of public funds for fossil fuel projects.”
However, Mr Pitt said the decision was essentially a “green light” for future exploration in the highly prospective Beetaloo Basin.
“This is a common sense decision that will allow grants for the development of the Beetaloo Basin to proceed, which has the potential to deliver thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity to the Northern Territory,” Mr Pitt said.
“The instrument under which the grant program was written and the approval decision to award grants to Imperial Oil and Gas were both valid and we welcome that decision so that we can move forward with the program.”
The $21m grant, funding the drilling part of a broader Morrison government scheme for a gas-led recovery, has been politically contentious, drawing criticism from green groups and climate protesters.
The federal government may now look to reissue the Empire grants once it has fully analysed the legal decision.
Former Dow Chemical boss Andrew Liveris has touted the vast potential of the Beetaloo, some 500km southeast of Darwin, as “the third largest shale gas deposit on the planet”.
Developers in the Beetaloo include Origin Energy, Santos and the recently listed Tamboran Resources, which is targeting an aggressive drilling plan covering eight wells by 2023 with an aim of supplying gas by 2024 before forecast shortages hit the east coast.
Tamboran is also plotting a route to market as part of a $6bn plan to open up the Beetaloo for east coast users and Darwin LNG exports via a pact with distributor Jemena.
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