Australian Energy Producers warns of threat to nation’s energy security if tabled legislation is approved
Attacks on seismic surveys threaten Australia’s future energy supply, says the country’s industry organisation.
Australia’s energy security will be put at risk if decision-makers ignore the science of seismic surveys — a safe and proven technology that is critical for finding and developing new gas supply, according to industry body Australian Energy Producers (AEP).
AEP, formerly APPEA, hit out at proposed legislation introduced in parliament on 18 November, which it said is aimed at stopping new gas projects with no regard for the devastating impact on Australia’s economy and energy security.
Member of Parliament, Monique Ryan, on Monday introduced a private member’s bill in Australia’s House of Representatives aimed at abolishing Special Prospecting Authority (SPA) permits.
SPAs are permits granted to exploration companies, allowing them to conduct seismic surveying offshore.
For just A$8000 (US$5170) international companies can obtain permission to undertake seismic blasting in sensitive marine habitats, including marine parks and other critical ocean environments, for up to six months at a time, claimed Ryan.
“Our environmental protections are grossly inadequate underpowered when, for a derisory fee, an area of seabed larger than Tasmania can be made available to overseas-based firms for a speculative form of environmental vandalism. A process which inflicts auditory violence on our marine life,” said Ryan.
“This bill is an important step towards protecting our marine life, coastal communities and fishing industries, and the health of our oceans,” she said.
The AEP countered that modern seismic technology is used around the world to obtain high-quality data with minimal disruption to marine ecosystems.
“Seismic surveying is a strictly regulated technology that has unlocked Australia’s vast offshore gas resources and delivered reliable energy for millions of Australian homes and businesses for decades,” AEP chief executive, Samantha McCulloch, said.
“The facts are that Australia’s future energy security will depend on continued exploration for new gas supply to 2050 and beyond. At a time when Australia is facing looming gas shortfalls, we need energy policies backed by science and robust regulations, not ideology.”
Australia’s independent regulator, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (Nopsema), has found that “seismic surveys can be managed and regulated to ensure that they do not have serious, unacceptable impacts on the marine environment or marine fauna”.
“It has a harmful impact on marine life, causing considerable damage to breeding and feeding grounds, and threatening the overall health of sea creatures. It has a negative impact on local fishing industries.”
Ryan added that more than 20,000 Australians have called on the Anthony Albanese government to abolish these harmful SPA permits “but, to date, the government has not listened”.
The Australian government’s Future Gas Strategy confirmed that natural gas would remain an integral part of Australia’s energy mix to 2050 and beyond, and “without future investment, there are real risks gas will become unaffordable and unavailable to Australian households and industry well before 2050”.
McCulloch also noted a recent independent report by Australian consultancy EnergyQuest found that a halt to new gas investment would trigger “major economic disruption” on both coasts of Australia, leading to a high risk of blackouts, manufacturers closing and inevitably higher energy prices.
