Australia
BP plans to drill four new ultra-deepwater wells in an area off the south coast of Australia known as the Great Australian Bight.
These wells would be deeper than those involved in the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
This is an internationally significant area for marine life, and so the Australian Senate is holding an inquiry to examine BP’s plans and the potential impacts of a spill. Bunna Lawrie is an Indigenous Mirning Traditional Owner who recently gave a statement to the inquiry. His photograph is accompanied by the inquiry’s “terms of reference” and some of his words on the significance of the Bight for the Mirning.
This inquiry comes after the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority rejected BP’s plans to drill four exploratory wells last year.
BP has vowed to reapply.
Wilderness Society campaign to save the Great Australian Bight