Australia’s NSW to ban mining, oil, gas in state waters

Australia's New South Wales (NSW) state government has pledged to prohibit seabed exploration for resources, citing the need to protect the environment.

The Labor party government said it has secured support from across parliament for its bill to amend the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, which it said will prevent "severe environmental damage" from offshore exploration and drilling, oil spills and greenhouse gas emissions.

The ban would only apply in state-controlled waters that extend three nautical miles from the shoreline, with the federal government controlling waters extending beyond this to the limit of Australia's exclusive economic zone.

The NSW government said the bill will exempt dredging of ports, coastal protection works such as sand replenishment and laying of pipelines or submarine cables.

Southeast Australian states including NSW are facing significant gas shortfalls this decade, as the Gippsland basin joint-venture fields offshore Victoria state deplete. The 2.4mn t/yr Port Kembla LNG import terminal owned by Australian developer Squadron Energy is likely to begin imports in 2026 or 2027 during the winter period when gas use peaks in Australia's south.

A final investment decision for Australian independent Santos' planned Narrabri coal-bed methane (CBM) gas project in NSW has been delayed until 2025 at the earliest, with the firm prioritising progression of other developments, including the delayed Barossa backfill project offshore northern Australia. Narrabri could produce 150-200 TJ/d (4mn-5.34mn m³/d) or about half NSW's daily demand, Santos has said. The state get most of its gas from Victoria or South Australia, with increasing imports arriving from Queensland's CBM fields.

NSW has so far rejected calls for it to join Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory in banning new gas connections for residential and commercial customers.

By Tom Major