Theia Energy withdraws bid to frack in the Kimberley’s Canning Basin

Environmentalist groups have tentatively celebrated the withdrawal of Theia Energy’s proposal to frack in the Kimberley from the Environmental Protection Authority. Environmentalist groups Lock The Gate Alliance and Environs Kimberley welcomed the withdrawal of Theia Energy’s proposal to frack for oil in the Canning Basin approximately 150km south-east of Broome from the EPA on Friday July 8. Lock The Gate Alliance WA campaign coordinator Claire McKinnon said the public backlash contributed to the decision after the EPA received more than 2000 public comments on the proposal during the public comment period. But Environs Kimberley director Martin Pritchard said the withdrawal may simply be because Theia Energy has found a more lucrative project elsewhere. “A similar situation occurred in 2020, when fracking company Black Mountain terminated an assessment and then lodged a new referral, proposing more fracking wells and a larger footprint near the Fitzroy River,” he said. Theia Energy and Bennett Resources — a subsidiary of Texas-based oil and gas company Black Mountain Energy — both submitted proposals to explore the Kimberley’s Canning Basin after the McGowan Governments’ statewide moratorium on fracking was lifted back in November 2018. Mr Pritchard said fracking in the Kimberley should be banned. “The long-term plans Theia Energy has flagged would be a disaster for the Kimberley’s half-a-billion-dollar tourism industry, would industrialise the region’s world-renowned landscapes and be a major contributor to climate change,” he said. “We are calling on the McGowan Government to ban fracking in the Kimberley. This is a toxic industry that the Labor Government cannot allow if it wants to be seen as taking credible action on climate change and protecting the Kimberley.” Theia Energy was contacted for comment but did not respond in time for print.