BP has determined that its exploration drilling program in the Great Australian Bight (GAB), offshore South Australia, will not be able to compete for capital investment with other upstream opportunities in its global portfolio in the foreseeable future.
The decision follows the review and refresh of BP’s upstream strategy earlier this year, which included focusing exploration on opportunities likely to create value in the near to medium term, primarily building on BP’s significant existing upstream positions.
“We have looked long and hard at our exploration plans for the Great Australian Bight but, in the current external environment, we will only pursue frontier exploration opportunities if they are competitive and aligned to our strategic goals,” BP Managing Director for Exploration and Production, Australia, Claire Fitzpatrick said.
“After extensive and careful consideration, this has proven not to be the case for our project to explore in the Bight.
Ms Fitzpatrick said the decision was incredibly difficult and acknowledges it will be felt across the South Australia region.
“We have made significant progress with preparations for drilling in the Bight with the support of communities and federal, state and local governments. We acknowledge our commitments and obligations and our priority now is to work with government and community stakeholders to identify alternative ways of honouring these.”
