Esso Australia’s plans to decommission oil and gas platforms in the Gippsland Basin are sparking mixed feelings among local residents and stakeholders.
Esso, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, is preparing to remove about half of its platforms and structures in the Gippsland Basin, commencing in late 2026, or early 2027. The project involves the removal of up to 10 steel piled jacket platforms and two monotowers, with structures to be removed down to 55 metres below sea level or at the seabed, depending on water depth. Esso plans to dismantle and process the decommissioned structures at Barry Beach Marine Terminal (BBMT) in Corner Inlet.
Environmental groups, including Friends of the Earth (FoE), have raised serious concerns about potential ecological impacts at Barry Beach.
Jeff Waters, FoE’s Offshore Fossil Gas campaigner, spoke to the ABC recently. “Bringing all of this hazardous waste including hydrocarbons and mercury and lead… up onto the beach only a few centimetres above the waterline and storing them there for years while they’re broken down threatens the nature of the wetland and threatens to spread toxins through the area.”
The group is campaigning for Esso to transport the decommissioned oil and gas platforms to an alternative site.
Deakin University hazardous materials management senior lecturer Dr Trevor Thornton was also interviewed by the ABC. He said Esso should reconsider the Barry Beach location for the disassembly of rigs. “The process for [decommissioning] is … relatively safe, unless something goes wrong… And if something goes wrong then you probably won’t want them in that Ramsar area because the damage it’s going to cause is going to be quite significant.”
Esso has responded to these concerns, stating that the steel piled jackets are 98% iron and do not contain mercury, lead, cadmium, asbestos, or naturally occurring radioactive material.
An Esso spokesperson told the ABC that, “No part of any of the structures will come into contact with the water at Corner Inlet. All dismantling activities will be completed responsibly in full compliance with environmental regulations and in a timely manner.”
Some locals are also concerned about the lack of advance notice about recent stakeholder consultation sessions Esso has been running for the project.
Foster resident Julia Merrington shared her experience: “I’m heavily involved in our community, and I regularly engage in local Facebook groups and read the local papers… Yet, I was perplexed not to have heard about or seen any advertising for the stakeholder consultation sessions for this project.
“And after making inquiries with various community members, including environmental groups, local newspapers, fishers, and birdwatchers, I found that very few people were aware of the proposed project or any consultation sessions. In fact, I found only two who had seen anything.”
An Esso spokesperson responded to questions about the consultation process, saying: “From the outset, we identified and actively engaged with key stakeholders across the Gippsland region and continue to consult them as we work through the process… This year, there have been [information] sessions in Welshpool and Foster, with more happening over the coming months, including in Yarram and Leongatha.
However Kasun Ekanayake, who coordinates BirdLife Australia’s Beach Nesting Birds Project, reports that he has not heard of the project or the consultation process. “Given the fact that we have been conducting beach-nesting bird surveys on the Barrier Islands of Nooramunga Marine and Coastal Park over the last 8-9 years, it’s surprising that we haven’t been considered a stakeholder or included in the consultation process.”
Ekanayake believes a spill of hazardous materials would have an impact on local bird populations. “It could lead to depletion of food resources in turn having a negative effect on breeding birds. The impact would be severe on birds such as Terns and Gulls because they nest colonially, and could lead to the loss of many nests or chicks.”
Rob Timmirs, a member of the VR Fish Diver/Fisher reference group, attended a recent consultation session in Port Welshpool. He was reassured that the rig extraction and landing process would be environmentally safe, with minimal impact on the inlet. “Esso were open and transparent about what they’re doing… The top five metres of the platforms have antifouling agents, the rest is natural steel.”
Timmirs says around 20 people attended the meeting on 8 August, mostly commercial fishers and some adjoining landholders. He was alerted to the meeting through social media and his involvement in the diving and fishing peak bodies, and is enthusiastic about the possibility for recreational diving, ecotourism and underwater fish breeding habitat the capped rigs might provide.
Esso is planning to submit its Environment Plan to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) in the first quarter of 2025, with major offshore activities scheduled to begin in late 2026.
Further community information sessions have been scheduled for 10am-2pm, 25 September in Welshpool Memorial Hall, 3-7pm, 25 September at SGBLLEN in Leongatha and 3-7pm, 26 September at Manna Gum Community House in Foster. Cara Schultz
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