PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Federal Resources and Water Minister Keith Pitt has slammed attempts by activists to disrupt gas exploration to the west of King Island, after some protesters attached themselves to a seismic vessel.

This was the third day of protests against the planned seismic activity by major ConocoPhillips at its Otway basin assets, some 23.5 km from King Island.

The survey is expected to start on August 20, and will conclude by October 31.

Pitt said on Thursday that protestors attempting to disrupt gas exploration to the west of King Island should abide by the environmental umpire’s decision and let the crucial work proceed to guarantee future energy supplies to south-eastern Australia.

He said ConocoPhillips had received all required environmental approvals to carry out the work.

“The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (Nopsema) is regarded as a world-leading regulator of the industry and people can be assured any work will be carried out under the strictest guidelines,” Pitt said.

“Activists disrupting the project are clearly driven by extreme ideology. They refuse to acknowledge the facts around the industry. Nopsema has ensured that gas exploration has occurred safely in this area for decades and operated alongside other industries, including tourism, with no harm to the environment.

“Bans on onshore gas exploration imposed by the Victorian government have inevitably led to a decline in local energy supplies, which is now having an impact on the state’s business and manufacturing sectors.

“Gas exploration and production ensures homes and businesses can access affordable and secure energy into the future. The gas industry supports thousands of direct and indirect jobs in Victoria and across the east coast,” the Minister said.

“Wildly false and misleading claims from the Greens and other activists about the impact of exploration should be seen for what they are – attempts to destroy our gas industry. The company should be allowed to proceed with its crucial work that will bring benefits to all Australians.”

Previous studies by the Australian Institute of Marine Science showed that marine seismic surveys used in oil and gas exploration are not affecting the abundance or behavior of commercially valuable fishes.

The research is the first of its kind to use dedicated seismic vessels to measure the impacts of the survey’s noise in an ocean environment, with the eight-month experiment conducted within a 2 500 km² fishery management zone near the Pilbara coast.