Oil Company Equinor Want To Drill On The Great Australian Bight And Aussies Are Fuming

Everyone’s talking about it. And too bloody right. Not only do Norwegian oil company Equinor want to drill 300km off the coast of the Great Australian Bight, but have also completely underestimated the impacts of potential oil leaks on the majority of the Aussie coastline, according to Greenpeace.

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

If you’re new to the announcement, and the outrage that has accompanied it, here’s what we know:

From Margaret River To Port Macquarie Could Be Affected

An oil spill as large as this would be incredibly rare. But there’s no reason that it shouldn’t be heavily taken into account. Should one occur, marine life and the currently pristine waters of South Australia and far beyond could be catastrophically changed. Both in the short and long term.

Equinor’s Capping Stack Will Be Stored In Singapore

A capping stack, aka a ‘plug’ to stop an oil spill from spreading further would be stored in Singapore. Not exactly to hand when it matters most, right? A 15-day journey to the Bight means a lot of oil spilling out into the surrounding oceans with a huge impact on its’ surroundings.

It Could Take Up To 102 Days For An Oil Spill To Be Completely Halted

Although their prediction is 47 days less than what it took BP to kill the well off the Gulf of Mexico, it still seems like an immense amount of time for disaster to continuously occur. According to SBS and Wilderness Society South Australian director Peter Owens, a spill could reach Adelaide in just 20 days. So it’s easy to imagine what could unfold over 102.

With the Great Australian Bight being the country’s ‘whale nursery’ and with one of the highest populations of dolphins in the world, Greenpeace and many other celebrities and musicians are coming together to fight for the cause, including Vera Blue. Thousands of petition signatures have already been put forward and with the anger spreading, politicians will be feeling the pressure.

 

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IT’S TOMORROW!! 🌊💚☮️ My new single ‘Like I Remember You’ in collaboration with @greenpeaceap is dropping and I’m so excited. We worked on the video on board the magical Rainbow Warrior ship and it’s a v special release. I’m lending my voice to the campaign to stop oil drilling in the Great Australian Bight – for the love of our oceans. 🌊 Join me – hit the link in my bio to add your name 💙 #makeoilhistory #protectthebight #peoplevsoil

A post shared by Vera Blue (@verabluemusic) on Feb 6, 2019 at 10:10pm PST

Image Source: Greenpeace