Press release – 8 June, 2017Plans announced today by Norwegian oil company, Statoil, to conduct exploratory drilling in the Great Australian Bight will face intense opposition from the Australian community because of the extreme risk deepwater drilling represents to a uniquely valuable marine wilderness.

Statoil’s appalling safety record alone is enough reason for the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) to reject a future Environment Plan.Statoil’s latest proposal comes amid new concerns voiced by Norway’s oil regulator over the company’s safety record. [1].
"Statoil has come under scrutiny for a worsening safety record, including a doubling of the volume of oil spills from their Norwegian wells last year and fourteen major safety incidents in the past eighteen months,” said Greenpeace Campaigner, Jonathan Moylan.
“NOPSEMA should not approve drilling in such a sensitive area by a company with such a track record.
“The Great Australian Bight has some of the most extreme weather conditions on the planet. Extreme deepwater drilling under such conditions is too risky. Any spill would be catastrophic, as stochastic modelling done previously by BP has shown: the devastating impacts would reach from Perth in WA to Eden on the NSW south coast.
“Statoil should brace for strong opposition to its plans from the South Australian community, including from tourism and fishing communities who rely on a pristine Bight.
“The livelihoods of communities that would be affected by a catastrophic oil spill should not be trumped by the special interests of the oil industry,” said Mr Moylan.
The Great Australian Bight is one of the most precious, pristine wilderness areas in the world.
“The Bight is a whale nursery for the Southern Right Whale, home to the Australian sea lion and 85% of species found in the Bight exist nowhere else on earth,” said Mr Moylan.
“Statoil’s intention to open up more risky drilling operations at the ends of the earth stands in marked contrast to their espoused recognition of the global energy transformation that is already underway.” [2]
An unprecedented legal challenge in Norway, led by Greenpeace and Natuur og Ungdom, is challenging Statoil’s northernmost Arctic oil licenses ever granted in the Barents Sea on climate grounds.
Notes for editors:
[1] Statoil: Safety incidents surge as new Arctic drilling drive begins at
http://energydesk.greenpeace.org/2017/05/11/statoil-arctic-barents-safety-incidents/
[2] Immediate action needed to transform the global energy system
https://www.statoil.com/en/news/energy-perspectives2017-immediate-action-needed.html
For interviews contact:
Rachael Vincent, Media Campaigner
0413 993 316