News

The titleholders of a controversial offshore oil & gas permit have declared there will be no material impact from the recent declaration of the partially overlapping Hunter offshore wind zone in NSW.

JV partners Asset Energy and Bounty Oil & Gas have been developing their PEP-11 offshore permit – NSW’s only offshore licence – for the better part of two decades, and are planning to drill the Seablue-1 gas exploration well around 25km off the coast of NSW near Newcastle.

Earlier this month the federal Minister Chris Bowen officially announced the declaration of Hunter offshore wind zone OEI-01-2023, which overlaps a considerable portion of the northern end of PEP-11.

However Asset Energy said that “the Declared Wind Area does not materially impact the PEP-11 title or the main PEP-11 target areas.”

In an ASX announcement Asset said, “There are and will be offshore areas where wind, gas and carbon sequestration activities will overlap and it is Advents’ belief that a holistic approach should and will be taken to ensure that clean energy is produced in a reliable and cost effective manner.”

Advent Energy is Asset Energy’s parent, and they are both investee companies of ASX-listed MEC Resources and BPH Energy.

PEP-11 gained notoriety at the last federal election when then Prime Minister Scott Morrison cancelled it. It was later discovered this was done by Morrison while using his authority as self-appointed minister - one of several ministries he had secretly assumed leadership of.

The decision to cancel PEP-11 was appealed by the titleholders and consequently overturned by the Federal Court of Australia in February this year. However the permit is still in limbo while the federal permit regulator assesses a suspension application.

In the interim Asset Energy said it is “investigating availability of a mobile offshore drilling unit to drill the proposed Seablue-1 well on the Baleen prospect which would take approximately thirty-five days to complete”, possibly in the first half of 2024.

The strong community opposition to Asset’s plans in PEP-11, which ultimately lead to Morrison cancelling the permit, is likely to be repeated as activity increases.