Environmentalists have long contested drilling in the Bight
Great Australian Bight closes for business
Santos joins the list of developers to withdraw from the region, deeming it too risky
The Great Australian Bight, once seen as a promising frontier deepwater exploration acreage, is effectively closed for business after the last deep-pocketed developers pulled out in July. Australian independent Santos announced in mid-July that its joint venture with US peer Murphy Oil had relinquished its 16,525km² exploration permit in the Bight. Santos owned 80pc of EPP43 and Murphy the remaining 20pc. They follow BP, Chevron and Norway’s Equinor in deeming the play too risky. The three firms abandoned their exploration plans for the Bight in 2016, 2017 and 2020 respectively. Environmental campaigners have long contested drilling in the Bight, which lies off the central and western portio
Also in this section
15 May 2025
Financial problems, lack of exploration success and political dogma cause uncertainty across much of the region
14 May 2025
The invisible hand of the market has seen increasing transparency but much more needs to be done to build a better understanding
13 May 2025
A fall in Venezuelan output drives overall production lower, as Saudi Arabia starts to slowly bring more crude to the market
12 May 2025
With the gas industry’s staunchest advocates and opponents taking brutal blows, the sector looks like treading a path of insipid indifference
