Special submission to NOPSEMA on the proposed Equinor Stromlo-1 Drilling Program in the Great Australian Bight

Special Submission to NOPSEMA on the proposed Equinor Drilling Program in the Great Australian Bight

On 23 April, 2019, The Sydney Environment Institute at The University of Sydney convened a group of specific knowledge experts to consider Norwegian oil company Equinor’s proposal to drill an exploratory well in the Great Australian Bight (GAB). This submission to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) is one of the outcomes of that meeting.

Among other things, the submission identifies a number of inadequacies in Equinor’s environmental plan, which require further investigation before any final approval by NOPSEMA is granted. Most importantly, the report argues that NOPSEMA has the power to deal with the matters raised in the submission. The submission is intended to be constructive and, as far as possible, to take into account the legal framework within which NOPSEMA operates.