Seismic blasting opponents gear up for fight over Victoria's whale habitat as energy company cites high gas demand

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A multinational gas and oil giant says it remains committed to consultation amid rising community concerns over proposed testing off south-west Victoria.

Key points:

Seismic blast testing is the first step in oil and gas exploration, where powerful air guns fire loud blasts of compressed air every 10 to 15 seconds to survey seabeds.If approved by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority , the company intends to explore commercially viable gas deposits at two sites in Commonwealth waters, one west of King Island and another off the coast of Warrnambool.

In a statement, CEO Andrew Mason said Protect the West had briefed the council on the proposed seismic testing. More than 40 community members attended a meeting about the proposed Otway Basin gas exploration in early May. "A temporary threshold shift is something you might experience if you went to a rock concert and you got ringing in your ears for a couple of days … we are not allowed to have that effect on [the whales]."The general manager of government and external affairs for ConocoPhillips Australia, Fiona McLeod, said the company wanted to meet Australia's growing energy needs."Some would say our offshore regulation is some of the strictest in the world," Ms McLeod said.

 

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