The federal government will allow the oil and gas industry to explore new offshore sites covering 46,758 square kilometers of Commonwealth waters.
Key Points:
- The federal government has approved 10 new ocean sites for oil and gas exploration
- It has also approved two new offshore greenhouse gas storage areas
- Resources minister says carbon capture and storage is important to world’s push towards net zero emissions
In a video address to the NT Resources Week conference in Darwin, Resources Minister Madeleine King said the release consisted of 10 areas in the Bonaparte, Browse, Carnarvon and Gippsland basins.
The locations are off the coasts of the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Victoria and Ashmore and Cartier Islands.
“The annual release of areas for offshore oil exploration supports ongoing investment in the country’s oil sector, which is vital to the economy and meeting the energy needs of Australians,” he said.
“As we strive to reduce emissions, it must be emphasized that continued exploration for oil and gas in Commonwealth waters is critical to alleviating future domestic gas shortfalls.”
Resources Minister Madeleine King recently said the gas industry’s social license was in decline. (ABC News: Nick Haggarty)
The news was welcomed by those attending the resource conference in Darwin, but further afield it was met with disbelief.
“Labour likes to talk a lot about climate but when it really matters they will do exactly what their fossil fuel donors ask,” Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson tweeted.
Greenhouse gas storage authorizations
The government has also today granted new “greenhouse gas storage permits” to some of Australia’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters.
The permits will allow Woodside Energy and Inpex to go ahead with offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects.
“I want the industry to turn its CCS ambition into reality, I want the industry to turn its CCS talk into action,” Ms King said.
“Everyone in this audience today understands how important it is to the social license of the sector, but it is much more than that, because getting CCS right is important for the whole world to reach net zero emissions.”
Minister King said approval of a “greenhouse gas storage area” in Bonaparte Gulf near Darwin would help push forward plans for a catch storage and use center of Darwin carbon.
Space for play or pause, M for mute, left and right arrows for search, up and down arrows for volume. Listening Duration: 11 minutes 57 seconds11m NT Resource Week: Interview with Bill Townsend of Inpex
Inpex corporate vice president Bill Townsend said CCS would play an important role in the company’s future.
“One of the ways we are looking to reduce the carbon footprint of our Ichthys LNG [project in Darwin] it’s through CCS,” he said.
“What we propose is to capture CO2 and channel it about 270 kilometers from Darwin and inject it back into the soil where it came from.”