A new Environment Plan from international energy company Equinor, released today, shows that an oil spill in the Great Australian Bight could reach South Australian, Victorian and Tasmanian coastlines while also hitting Kangaroo Island.

The modelling has been released after a leaked document from the same company on the same drilling site in November of last year showed an even greater level of risk from a potential oil spill.

The draft environmental plan was published ahead of submission for assessment by the regulator, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA).

“This modelling doesn’t offer the people of South Australia any comfort – it shows that a major spill could devastate local fisheries and tourism jobs in SA while severely damaging the ecology of surrounding areas,” said Noah Schultz-Byard, The Australia Institute’s SA Projects Manager.

“Adding to the local environmental and economic risks is the fact that this project will result in the emission of significant carbon pollution, which will only accelerate dangerous global warming.

“Global warming is already impacting on south Australians through more extreme heatwaves that are only projected to worsen in coming years. Now is not the time to be dredging up billions of barrels of oil to supercharge carbon pollution.”