Big Oil, Big Bight Part One: oil exploration in the Great Australian Bight
The Great Australian Bight is a pristine marine wilderness area that encompasses one of the most unique ocean environments on the planet. Into this environment comes some of the largest and most powerful corporations in the world, including British Petroleum, Chevron, and Statoil with Australia’s own Woodside, Santos and Bight Petroleum in tow.
The current proposals to drill exploratory wells 300 km south-west of Ceduna have been rejected twice by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA). Despite this, BP is determined to push ahead with its plans to start drilling in October.
This is the first installment in a special series of reports on the proposal to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight.