Norwegian energy giant abandons plans to drill off Australian coast

 Norwegian energy giant Equinor has abandoned its plan to drill for oil off the coast of South Australia (SA).

In a statement released on Tuesday, the company said it has come to the conclusion that exploratory drilling in the Great Australian Bight was "not commercially competitive" compared to other opportunities.

It follows similar decisions by BP in 2016 and Chevron in 2017.

The 200 million Australian dollars (132.3 million U.S. dollars) project was expected to boost annual state and federal tax income by 1.7 billion Australian dollars (1.1 billion U.S. dollars) and create more than 1,300 jobs in SA.

"Following a holistic review of its exploration portfolio, Equinor has concluded that the project's potential is not commercially competitive compared with other exploration opportunities in the company," Jone Stangeland, Equinor's country manager for Australia, said in the statement.

"We will engage with the federal and state authorities regarding our decision to discontinue the exploration program."

"We hold an exploration permit offshore of Western Australia and will maintain other ongoing interests and activities in Australia."

Drilling in the bight, an open bay spanning thousands of kilometers, has been strongly opposed by environmental groups.

Modelling released by Equinor in November 2018 warned that worst-case oil spill in the bight would see oil pollute beaches spanning from Western Australia (WA) to New South Wales (NSW) on Australia's east coast.

Greenpeace hailed Equinor's decision as an "incredible win" for coastal communities, Indigenous traditional owners, surfers, the seafood industry, tourism operators and other local businesses.

"The only way to protect coastal communities and the Great Australian Bight's unique marine life is to rule out drilling permanently," Chief Executive of Greenpeace Australia Pacific David Ritter said.

Federal Minister for resources Keith Pitt said that the decision was "disappointing" but expressed his support for future plans to drill in the bight.