The government might be in caretaker mode, but that hasn’t stopped federal agencies from quietly giving new fossil fuel projects the green light. Zacharias Szumer reports.
The Albanese government’s fossil fuel approval tally has risen to 17 after Australia’s offshore oil and gas regulator approved project in Victoria.
Beach Energy’s Otway Development was quietly approved and uploaded to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority’s website over the last week.
The project, which is approximately 17 km south of the Victorian mainland, is “designed to explore and develop new gas discoveries in the offshore Otway Basin,” the project proposal reads.
Beach Energy says the project, which will supply gas to the Australian domestic market, “provides an opportunity to develop currently stranded gas reserves and future resources in the offshore Otway Basin”.
The company has forecast that emissions associated with gas production from the project itself – i.e. scope one emissions – would fall below the Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism threshold.
This means that Beach Energy will not have to either reduce or offset its emissions alongside large greenhouse gas emitting facilities whose production emissions are above the threshold.
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The company says it has “engaged with the Clean Energy Regulator to discuss the Safeguard Mechanism boundary” and that it “will continue these discussions with the Clean Energy regulator as the Project progresses”.
On the issue of scope three emissions – i.e. those produced in transporting and burning the gas to produce heat or electricity – the proposal simply says that these will be “managed in accordance with Australia’s regulatory regime”.
The company says production of gas from the nearby Otway Gas Plant is “critical in ensuring Victoria’s energy security as demand for gas is expected to continue in Victoria and the south-eastern states particularly as a result of the decline in consumption of more emission intensive coal associated with the closure of coal-fired power stations”.
Tanya’s Tally: Albo government fossil fuel approvals shoot to 16
In December, MWM reported that the Albanese government had approved or extended at least 16 fossil fuel projects and two carbon capture projects since taking office.
MWM’s tally only includes extractive projects – not supporting infrastructure such as gas pipelines or railways for coal mines.
It only counts federal approvals, not those from state and territory governments.
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Zacharias Szumer is a freelance writer from Melbourne. In addition to Michael West Media, he has written for The Monthly, Overland, Jacobin, The Quietus, The South China Morning Post and other outlets.
He was also responsible for our War Power Reforms series.