The PEP11 permit was cancelled last year, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison making the announcement that the people of wealthy Liberal electorates, who he is scared of losing come the May election, had spoken and didn't like the idea of an offshore rig anywhere near them.
In fact, the acreage is much closer to Newcastle than Sydney, but three centre-left Libs with coastal electorates still spoke against the proposed wildcat by Advent Energy.
Advent owns 85% of the permit and Bounty Oil & Gas the remainder. Advent is owned by MEC Resources, Grandbridge Capital and BPH Energy, which are suspended from the ASX, private and in a voluntary suspension from the ASX, respectively. All are headed by David Breeze.
Morrison was not in fact the man in charge of the decision; the ultimate decider was in fact Queensland National and resources minister Keith Pitt, who has always been publicly in favour of the permit and its potential for gas.
The area is governed by the Joint Authority, which is the New South Wales state government and the federal offshore titles regulator, which is overseen by Pitt.
Breeze has, according to sources, made much of his ties to Pitt.
Oil and gas lobby body APPEA responded with characteristic rage.
"Today's announcement is really short-sighted," said APPEA CEO Andrew McConville.
"If the minister wanted to send a message that investment in the state isn't welcome, then this outcome has been achieved."
McConville is late to the party; the state has been sending that message for years.
The New South Wales Liberal state government has always been lairy of gas development, saying in 2018 MEC would not pass a ‘fit and proper persons test' and cancelling a couple of nearshore permits.
Last July it released its Future of Gas Statement which reduced the area covered by Petroleum Exploration Licences by 77% and shut the door on future releases, with the exception of Santos' Narrabri CSG project.
The statement by then-deputy premier John Barilaro, slayed the majority of the expired, so-called ‘zombie' PELs except the ones that would support Santos's Narrabri Gas project.
"This statement outlines the NSW government's balanced approach to securing gas supplies and working with industries to generate regional jobs and prosperity," Barilaro said.
"This means backing the Narrabri Gas Project and investments in LNG import terminals, pipelines and gas-fired power generation as well as continuing investigation of the Narrabri Special Activation Precinct to drive growth in the manufacturing sector."
New South Wales has supported the Andrew Forrest-led plans for an LNG import terminal and imports gas from the other east coast states.
Victoria, the Northern Territory and Western Australia are the only states with active offshore permits. There remain two held by Bight Petroleum offshore South Australia, but no new permits offered by Geoscience Australia, which manages the annual acreage rounds.
Queensland in fact has a lone offshore permit held by Gulf Energy in the Gulf of Carpentaria, first granted in 2003 and renewed in 2015 and then nearly a year ago to the day.
It expires in 2024.
Gulf has until August this year to drill the first exploration well in the Bamaga Basin. The private company says it is targeting "a huge four-way dip closure covering 200 square kilometres in area, with the potential to contain several trillion cubic feet of natural gas or hundreds of millions of barrels of oil".
