What you need to know about offshore oil and gas (petroleum)
Australian waters have large reserves of oil and gas (collectively referred to as petroleum) under the seabed. Companies can explore for and extract petroleum if they have permission to do so. The science is clear that this industry, which has numerous environmental, economic, and social impacts, needs to be wound down. Yet companies are seeking to expand their operations and develop new petroleum fields.
This factsheet explains how offshore petroleum exploration and production is assessed and approved in Australia’s Commonwealth waters, including opportunities for the community to have a say on these projects.
Separate assessment processes apply to activities that take place in State and Territory waters. This fact sheet does not cover those processes.
This factsheet uses lots of terms that may be unfamiliar to the average reader. We have defined these terms in the Key Terms section.
Summary
Key takeaways
Explains how offshore oil and gas projects are assessed and approved and outlines opportunities to comment on environment plans and offshore project proposals
Key actions
Visit: The NOPSEMA website to view offshore project proposals.
You can subscribe to the Department’s Consultation Updates to be notified of upcoming public comment opportunities relating to Acreage Release.
To be notified when an exploration environment plan is open for comment, subscribe to NOPSEMA’s mailing list
Read: The UNDRIP to find out more about free, prior and informed consent.
Read: NOPSEMA’s guideline for consultation on offshore environment plans
