The Federal Court of Australia has dismissed an application for judicial review of Bounty Oil & Gas NL’s joint venture offshore Petroleum Exploration Permit 11 (PEP11), stalling the project’s development.
The decision upholds the previous ruling by the Commonwealth–New South Wales Offshore Petroleum Joint Authority to refuse the joint venture’s applications to vary, suspend and extend the highly contested exploration licence.
The application for judicial review was brought forward by Asset Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Advent Energy and the principal operator of the PEP11 joint venture. Bounty Oil & Gas holds the remaining 15 per cent stake in the asset.
The Court ruled that while Asset Energy had technically been denied procedural fairness regarding undisclosed well costings, this deficiency was ultimately immaterial.
The Court found that public interest grounds independently and adequately justified the Joint Authority’s original refusal to extend the permit.
Furthermore, the judgment verified that the Joint Authority was legally permitted to rely on statements made within the New South Wales Parliament as an accurate reflection of broader community views.
Due to parliamentary privilege, the truth of those parliamentary statements could not be legally challenged by the applicants.
Spanning roughly 4,649 square kilometres offshore from the lower Hunter Region in New South Wales, PEP11 sits just 50 kilometres from the Newcastle metropolitan area.
The joint venture partners have fiercely defended the site’s prospectivity, arguing that its natural gas reserves are vital to addressing the critical east coast gas supply shortfalls forecast by the ACCC and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).
Despite the legal blow, Advent Energy maintains that the PEP11 permit will remain in force while a separate, distinct application for a 50 per cent area renewal, submitted to the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) in March 2025, is formally determined.
Bounty Oil & Gas confirmed it is reviewing the judgment alongside its joint venture partners and intends to engage senior counsel to consider all available options, including a formal appeal.
Trading in Bounty’s securities has since recommenced on the ASX following the announcement.