SANTOS pulls out of Bight

Written by: Nick G. on 17 July 2021

Gas-producer SANTOS and its partner, the US-owned Murphy Oil Corporation, have pulled out of the Great Australian Bight in yet another great Australian environmental victory.

Equinor (Norwegian), BP (British) and Chevron are other multinationals that have been forced by peoples’ actions to surrender exploration leases in the Bight.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific chief executive David Ritter described the development as a "momentous win for people and the planet". 

"This is an incredible win for all of those who relentlessly campaigned for years to protect the Great Australian Bight from offshore drilling," he said.

“So many determined Australians worked incredibly hard to kick big oil companies out of our precious Bight, including coastal communities, Indigenous Traditional Owners, surfers, the seafood industry, tourism operators and other local businesses.

SANTOS had an 80% stake in the lease identified as EPP43 and Murphy Oil held 20%.

Canada’s Bight Petroleum is now the only company that still intends to drill in the area, even though its most recent plans were rejected by the regulator, the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA). Bight Petroleum has the leases for EPP 41 and 42.

Greenpeace has stated that “The Australian government should now impose a permanent moratorium on oil drilling in this precious marine wonderland.”

We support this demand and will support actions to enforce it.

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