Aussie gov't "bitterly disappointed" at BP decision to abandon oil drilling plan

Australia's Resources Minister Matt Canavan on Wednesday expressed dismay at a decision by multinational oil giant British Petroleum (BP) to abandon its plan to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight, something which was set to be worth up to 1.1 billion U.S. dollars.

On Tuesday, BP cited commercial reasons as the catalyst for scrapping the controversial plan, which would have required them to drill into the commonwealth marine reserve within the Great Australian Bight.

The plan also faced intense opposition from green groups and activists, but federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan ultimately described the BP's decision as "bitterly disappointing".

The minister said the constant opposition to the billion dollar plan had shown the "ugly side of activism" and would cost not only the government, but up to 100 working Australian families as well.

"We think up to 100 workers will be impacted, and those workers I'm sure went to bed last night a little restless, but we had other people in this country popping the champagne corks and celebrating that fact," Canavan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Canavan said he would go back to the drawing board with BP, which had previously promised around half a billion dollars' worth of commitments to the area.

"I'll be very interested in discussing with them in coming days what those (commitments) might be," Canavan said.

"Obviously there is still a lot of uncertainty about the area, but we remain confident of its long-term prospectivity."

He said the government would take the opportunity to liaise with "some of those other companies about their plans" for the region, as a result of BP's decision to abandon its Great Australian Bight plan.

BP had previously touted the Great Australian Bight location as possibly being an oil reserve to rival the one in the Gulf of Mexico. Endit