"An incredible win for nature." Equinor has abandoned plans to drill in the Great Australian Bight.

Three-quarters of the species that call the Great Australian Bight home, exist nowhere else on the planet.

Its waters hold 36 species of whales and dolphins and is one of the only places in the world that sea lions swim together in large communities. It’s the world’s most important nursery for the endangered southern white whale and its biodiversity is more unique than the Great Barrier Reef.

It’s an isolated, pristine corner of our country. It’s wild and beautiful and relatively untouched by humans.

Here is vision from one of the many paddle-outs staged in protest to the drilling. Post continues after video.

In December, Norwegian company, Equinor, won environmental approval to drill 372 kilometres south of the coastline. It was the second of four approvals needed before they could start work.

Today, however, the energy company has announced they’re abandoning their exploration drilling plan as it was “not commercially competitive”.

According to Equinor Australia’s company manager Jone Stangeland, they will still maintain “other ongoing interests and activities in Australia” and engage with the federal and state authorities regarding their decision to discontinue the exploration program.

“We have received bids for the drilling rig, the helicopters, the supply base — the cost for these activities is just too high and too expensive to go ahead and drill the well,” he said.

“We hold an exploration permit offshore [of] Western Australia and will maintain other ongoing interests and activities in Australia.”

Prior to this announcement, Equinor’s approval process was fiercely fought against by environmental and community groups. The Greens even called the environmental sign-off a “pre-Christmas horror show,” reported The Guardian. 

Celebrating today’s achievement, South Australian Greens Senator, Sarah Hanson-Young, shared her relief and excitement over Twitter.

“Breaking!! Oil giant Equinox has scrapped plans to drill in South Australia’s gorgeous Great Australian Bight is a huge win for the community, the environment and SA’s tourism and fishing industries.

Good for the planet & jobs. Congratulations to everyone who fought so hard!” she wrote.

Breaking!! Oil giant Equinor has scrapped plans to drill in South Australia’s gorgeous Great Australian Bight is a huge win for the community, the environment and SA’s tourism and fishing industries.
Good for the planet & jobs. Congratulations to everyone who fought so hard!

— Sarah Hanson-Young???? (@sarahinthesen8) February 24, 2020

So, what did Australians want?

A national poll by The Australian Institute found that 60 per cent of the country opposed the drilling, with the rate of opposition in South Australia at 68 per cent.

More than two-thirds of Australians think the Bight should be given World Heritage Protection.

Over 30,000 people wrote to the industry regulator NOPSEMA to voice their opposition against the plans, with over a dozen councils opposing the drilling.

#FightForTheBight paddle-outs were also carried out across the country, with tens of thousands of Aussies taking part.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

#FIGHTFORTHEBIGHT ????What an incredible morning watching so many people come together to protect the ocean we are gifted with! Thank you @patagoniaaus & @surfrideraus for putting on such a memorable event for such a great cause. If you haven’t gone online and signed the petition against equinor drilling for oil in the bight yet please do so ASAP! ????#bigoildontsurf #fightthebight @greataustralianbightalliance // Words and footage @madisonjeffery ????????????

A post shared by OneWave (@onewaveisallittakes) on Mar 17, 2019 at 2:19am PDT

The arguments against.

The biggest fears over the approval of drilling were around the risk of an oil spill.

A spill could leak between 4.3 million barrels and 7.9 million barrels – the largest oil spill in history, according to estimates from the 2016 Worst Credible Discharge report, authored by Equinor and its former joint-venture partner, BP.

In 2018, the ABC obtained a leaked draft environment plan authored by Equinor itself.

Under a “worst credible case discharge” scenario, more than 10 grams of oil per square metre could wash up on some of Australia’s coasts. Equinor previously said it would take 17 days to respond in a ‘best case’ scenario.

Maps included in the plan showed the potential for oil to reach as far north along the New South Wales coast as Port Macquarie and around to Albany in Western Australia.

But when the company released its final plan in February 2019, the more confronting images from the plan had been removed. Greenpeace accused Equinor of downplaying the risk.

"We are required under strict Australian regulations to simulate 100 variations of an oil spill that is worse than anything that has ever happened. The modelling assumes that every piece of safety equipment on the rig fails, and nothing is done to stop the leak, contain or disperse the oil for a hundred days. In reality, we would respond immediately," Equinor told Mamamia in a statement.

BREAKING: Oil giant Equinor has released its so-called 'Environmental Plan' for oil drilling in the Great Australian Bight. This map from Equinor's own prior modelling shows a spill could hit anywhere from SA to NSW. ????https://t.co/F0pelOVRk9#auspol #protectthebight pic.twitter.com/N3m8tPJqBw

— Greenpeace Aus Pac (@GreenpeaceAP) February 18, 2019

The Australian Institute said an oil spill had the potential to wipe out Tasmania's wild-catch fisheries - an industry worth around $200 million. It would also increase our contribution to global warming. Sea Shepard says it would single-handedly blow Australia's carbon budget.

"Burning fossil fuels for our energy needs is the single most significant driver of climate change. As the world is in climate crisis, it is now crucial that we transition away from fossil fuels toward a sustainable and clean energy future," they wrote in a statement on their site.

"If drilling is allowed to go ahead, billions of barrels of oil are expected to be burnt, turbocharging global warming at the exact time we should be drastically reducing carbon pollution," said Noah Schultz-Byard, The Australia Institute’s SA projects manager.

“Opening up the Bight and then burning billions of barrels of oil would be an extremely reckless thing to do as we’re already facing the increasing effects of global warming," he added.

The project even got pressure from overseas. An independent group of global leaders who call themselves 'Ocean Elders' wrote to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten calling on them to stop the drilling.

“If we are to meet the Paris Climate Accord to limit global warming to less than 1.5 degrees, it is essential that we do not open up new fossil fuel reserves, let alone in extremely dangerous and high conservation value environments such as the Bight,” the letter read.

“Due to the depth and roughness of the seas in the Bight, and the absence of knowledge about pressure and temperature beneath the sea-bed, the likelihood of an accident is higher than in existing oil basins,” it continued.

It was signed by leaders including Prince of Monaco Albert II, Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson and anthropologist Dame Jane Goodall.

Greenpeace also backed the Ocean Elders claims pointing to risk modelling done by BP who also looked at drilling in the area.

“The Great Australian Bight has some of the most extreme weather conditions on the planet. Extreme deepwater drilling under such conditions is too risky. Any spill would be catastrophic, as stochastic modelling done previously by BP has shown: the devastating impacts could reach from Perth in WA to Eden on the NSW south coast to as far away as Tasmania,” a statement on their website showed. 

Iron ore billionaire Andrew Forrest was also one of the many trying to halt the controversial project, threatening to launch a sizeable financial campaign against Equinor if it failed to change its plans.

How could this have impacted the animals?

It goes without saying that an oil spill would kill animals. But it's important to reiterate it doesn't just kill the wildlife swimming in the water - it can also affect the eggs of fish, sea turtles, birds and other land-based animals that also rely on the ocean.

The Deepwater Horizon disaster showed what a catastrophic oil spill can look like in a worst-case scenario. The disaster spilled 800 million litres of oil into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days straight, killing more than 4,700 animals.

The argument for.

Equinor had drilled more than 6000 wells off Norway without any incidents that resulted in pollution of the coastline and were originally confident they could do the same in Australia.

"We have extremely robust response arrangements so we can act immediately in the case of an unplanned event," Australia country manager Jone Stangeland told the ABC.

He was also quoted by AAP as saying, "we have been preparing for safe operations for two-and-a-half years, holding over 400 meetings with more than 200 organisations across Southern Australia."

The Coalition government argued the project would improve energy security and bring money and jobs to the region. In fact, Industry minister Matt Canavan said encouraging offshore oil exploration should be a "national priority" so Australia wouldn't have to rely on volatile global markets, reported The Australian.

Canavan even referred to the Great Australian Bight as, "the most prospective frontier oil basin in the world," adding it could be used to generate six billion barrels before 2060.

The South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy said the project could result in 2000 long-term jobs in South Australia and generate more than $7 billion in annual tax revenue over 40 years.

How have people reacted?

Breaking!! Oil giant Equinor has scrapped plans to drill in South Australia’s gorgeous Great Australian Bight is a huge win for the community, the environment and SA’s tourism and fishing industries.
Good for the planet & jobs. Congratulations to everyone who fought so hard!

— Sarah Hanson-Young???? (@sarahinthesen8) February 24, 2020

Equinor has abandoned its plans to drill for oil in the Great Australia Bight, making it the third major fossil fuel company to do so.

Equinor stated that its exploration drilling plan was "not commercially competitive." @abcnews https://t.co/r8GrTMPeiu

— Climate Council (@climatecouncil) February 24, 2020

Congratulations to the Australian surf community, and around the world, who fought so hard to protect the Great Australian Bight! This is a huge win for Australia, and really for everyone who loves the sea. Head to https://t.co/G2e7S1xJCh to read more.

????: @EdSloanePhoto pic.twitter.com/IvoJ6X3Zkm

— World Surf League (@wsl) February 25, 2020

BREAKING! Fossil fuel giant Equinor has abandoned their plans to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight ????????

This is a HUGE win for all the communities and organisations that have fought so hard to keep this pristine wilderness safe ???? https://t.co/IFUM36Ilt9

— GetUp! (@GetUp) February 24, 2020

Congratulations Peter Owen and Sarah Hanson-Young for fighting to protect the Great Australian Bight and its whales. https://t.co/ZHU41HbcD0

— Bob Brown Foundation (@BobBrownFndn) February 24, 2020

People power wins! ???????? Now, to #StopAdani too!https://t.co/3CWopxeP2R

— Stop Adani (@stopadani) February 24, 2020

HUGE NEWS ‼️

Well done to everyone who stood against this disastrous decision.#auspol via @nobby15

https://t.co/5eWuKKNI4A

— ???? Sleeping Giants Oz ???? (@slpng_giants_oz) February 24, 2020

This is an incredible win for nature, coastal communities, Indigenous traditional owners, surfers, the seafood industry, tourism operators and other local businesses. https://t.co/WH7PjIBSPt

— Greenpeace Aus Pac (@GreenpeaceAP) February 25, 2020