New gasfield approved near Twelve Apostles puts climate and ‘pristine’ ocean in jeopardy, environmentalists warn

A new gas drilling project approved for Victoria’s Otway basin will make “the path to a safe climate harder” and put a “pristine ocean environment” at risk, environment groups have warned. The federal and Victorian governments on Thursday announced they had greenlit the production licence for Amplitude Energy’s Annie gasfield project in the Otway basin , which expects to start producing gas by 2028. The project is located about 9km off the shores of Peterborough and Port Campbell, on the Great Ocean Road, about 12km west of the Twelve Apostles , a popular tourist attraction. The state’s energy and resources minister, Lily D’Ambrosio, said the project had the potential to provide up to 65 petajoules of gas – or more than a third of Victoria’s annual gas use. She said while demand for the fossil fuel is “decreasing as people move towards electrification”, the gasfield would ensure there was “enough gas in the system for those industries that can’t electrify”. It is the second major gas project Labor has approved this term and follows the 2022 election where then premier Daniel Andrews campaigned heavily on reviving the State Electricity Commission to accelerate the renewable energy transition and achieve a target of 95% renewable energy by 2035 . …