Company behind PEP11 gas project says it has been recommended for approval

By Matthew Kelly

October 17 2024 - 5:30am

📷 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese campaigning against PEP11 on Terrigal Beach in 2021.

The government agency responsible for the administration of petroleum titles in Australia has recommended a controversial gas exploration project off the Hunter coast proceed, according to the company seeking the licence.

BPH Energy, through its subsidiary Asset Energy, is seeking an extension of Petroleum Exploration Permit 11, or PEP11, which extends from Port Stephens to south of Sydney.

The project site is in Commonwealth waters 26 kilometers off Lake Munmorah, which is about 35 kilometers north of Prime Minister Anothony Albanese's new home in the Central Coast suburb of Copacabana.

Federal Industry and Science minister Ed Husic said last month that, based on the material provided to him, he had formed a "preliminary view" that the PEP11 permit should not be renewed.

The minister's comment was applauded by environment groups and local MPs who have been opposed to the project for close to a decade.

The government has provided the company with 1608 pages of material, which it has been asked to respond to before a final determination is made.

In a statement accompanying an update to the Australian Stock Exchange last week , BPH Energy said a copy of the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator's recommendation, which recommended the project be approved, was among the documents it had received.

The company said it appeared the recommendation was mistakenly included in the 45 annexures of documents.

It declined to provide a copy document to the Newcastle Herald for legal reasons.

Both Mr Husic and the Department of Industry, Science and Resources declined to comment on the recommendation.

NOPTA previously recommended the PEP11 exploration project should proceed in 2020.

Despite having the support of former resources minister Keith Pitt, former prime minister Scott Morrision sensationally intervened to stop the project in late 2021.

The decision was voided in February 2023 after Asset challenged the validity of Mr Morrison's decision-making authority in the Federal Court.

📷 Map shows the PEP11 zone in relation to the Hunter Offshore Wind project.

The latest application is being considered by the Commonwealth-NSW Offshore Petroleum Joint Authority.

Asset Energy has argued that the project is necessary to alleviate the national "gas crisis".

Chief executive David Breeze told the Herald last month that the company would again seek legal recourse if it considered its application had not been dealt with fairly.

"The need for gas has become much more critical," Mr Breeze said.

"NSW is suffering the highest rate of business insolvencies relative to past times, inflation is still at a high and the cost of energy is a key point there. It's critical that this project proceeds."

Surfers for Climate is among the groups opposed to PEP11.

"It shouldn't be understated that there is a toll being taken on coastal communities when they are constantly on edge about potential oil and gas activity off their beaches,"chief executive Josh Kirkman previously said.

"Australia does not need new oil and gas projects in our ocean, when the tide is certainly turning towards renewables and the electrification of our homes at scale."

The state government recently introduced legislation earlier this year banning offshore petroleum drilling projects, such as PEP11, in NSW coastal waters.

The legislation was driven, in part, by a significant public backlash against the PEP11 project.