MELBOURNE, Monday 1 September 2025 — Following disturbing allegations multinational oil and gas corporation ConocoPhillips covered up a methane leak at an LNG export hub in Darwin, Greenpeace Australia Pacific says the fossil fuel giant, which is currently test drilling for gas in the Otway Basin, can’t be trusted to operate in Victoria.
The scandal comes as the Victorian Government looks to open up the Otway basin for further gas drilling, inviting public consultation on a new permit just offshore of the Bay of Islands Coastal Park, and not far from the iconic Twelve Apostles.
Joe Rafalowicz, Head of Climate and Energy at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said:
“If ConocoPhillips intentionally covered up a massive incident in Darwin, who’s to say they won’t do it in the Otway Basin too?
“Big Gas has a truly terrible track record of leaks, spills, accidents and abandoning its dirty gas infrastructure in the ocean — and ConocoPhillips is no exception. If they drill, expect a spill.
“The Otway Basin, where ConocoPhillips plans to drill for dirty gas, is situated in an incredibly important area for marine life, including the endangered southern right whales and pygmy blue whales, dolphins, and little penguins. An incident, like a leak or a spill, in such an important ecosystem could have serious impacts, not only on marine life, but also on water quality, coastal habitats and vital local industries like fishing and tourism.
“In Victoria, we only need to look back to Woodside’s botched decommissioning job off the coast of Port Campbell earlier this year, where hundreds of kilograms of plastic waste were accidentally released into the ocean, to see another example of Big-Gas-gone-wrong.
“Big Gas is running rings around regulators like NOPSEMA, and our oceans are paying the price.
“The fact we continue to let these corporate cowboys run rampant in our oceans, destroying nature, and contributing massively to our emissions is astounding — especially considering we know they ship most of the gas offshore, and leave everyday Aussies to pay the price with higher bills and climate damage.
“The truth is, we don’t need to drill for more dirty gas just to line the pockets of big multinational corporations— and we certainly shouldn’t be risking our precious oceans to do it.”
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For more information or interviews contact Lucy Keller on 0491 135 308 or [email protected]
