BP ditches plans to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight

BP said the decision not to go ahead with
its plans to drill for oil in the Great
Australian Bight was purely commercial.

BP has decided not to go ahead with its controversial plans to drill for oil in the commonwealth marine reserve in the Great Australian Bight.

It had boasted that the Great Australian Bight had the potential to be as big an oil field as the Gulf of Mexico, where there are now more than 4,000 oil rigs.

Karoon, which just announced its plans to explore for oil last week, said the bight held “the world’s last underexplored Cretaceous basins”.

The move comes despite the company already investing millions in the venture, with a state-of-the-art oil rig being prepared in Singapore.

It is unclear where that leaves other companies with exploration licences in the region, including Chevron, Santos and Karoon.

Read The Guardian story - “BP ditches plans to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight.”