Australian E&P Lauds New Regulatory Process

Australia's producers will have shorter to wait before starting work on their projects following the introduction of a digital environmental approvals process. It could save them between six and 18 months and also improve transparency, said the prime minister, Scott Morrison.

Welcoming the news November 21, the CEO of upstream lobby group Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, Andrew McConville, said the measures will reduce red tape and unnecessary regulation, unlocking investment opportunities in Australia.

“The announcement represents an important step forward to improve and modernise the environmental approvals framework, which is currently time consuming, costly and complex,” he said.

“The new deregulation measures will greatly improve the framework but more importantly, doing this partnership with the Western Australian government, means more co-operation, information sharing and alignment. This is crucial in reducing the duplicative regulatory burden on industry without lowering environmental protections.

“Ensuring Australia remains an attractive destination for investment is crucial for delivering energy security and sustainability for domestic and export customers,” he said.

Appea said it would further engage in the design and use of the digital portal and database and in identifying further areas for improvements with the Deregulation Taskforce and within the review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act under Graeme Samuel.