QUBE Energy Pty Ltd has officially withdrawn its ‘Gippsland Regional Port Project’ for major redevelopment works at its Barry Beach Marine Terminal, 550 Barry Road, Agnes.
The Department of Climate Change Energy, the Environment and Water Department’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPVC) Public Portal posted the notification dated November 27, 2024 in recent days.
In May 2020, Qube Energy Pty Ltd (QUBE) proposed to develop a regional port at Barry Beach “to provide port access for larger vessels thereby enabling greater import and export capabilities for the Gippsland region”.
On June 25, 2020, the Victorian Minister for Planning Richard Wynne decided that an environment effects statement was required for the Gippsland Regional Port
He said the project had the potential for a range of significant environmental effects as well as a number of uncertainties that require rigorous and integrated assessment.
According to QUBE, the main components of the project were deepening and widening the existing berth pockets, swing basin and access channels to accommodate larger, deeper draught vessels, reconstructing the existing wharf and constructing a marina to support proposed clean energy project operation and maintenance activities.
QUBE proposed to construct warehouses, cargo handling facilities and marine operations and maintenance bases.
However, while the proposed major investment will not be going ahead, the Barry Beach Marine terminal will play a key role in the decommissioning of the Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd’s Bass Strait oil and gas fields assets from the fourth quarter of 2026 until early 2028.
At recent community briefing sessions, officials of ExxonMobil Australia Pty Ltd revealed that the decommissioning work will no longer require any channel widening and deepening work at Barry Beach with the jackets and other rig materials landed by low-draft barges after being off-loaded from the huge decommissioning ship, the Allseas HLV Pioneering Spirit.
As well as the channel and berth works, the project had proposed the construction of warehousing and other infrastructure.
Wharf reconstruction was another aspect of the work as the BBMT wharf “is ageing and requires replacement as it is not suitable in its current condition for heavy loads. This will involve staged construction of the new wharf and removal of the existing wharf to enable existing port operations to continue due to their essential support role for Bass Strait oil and gas operations”.
Esso Australia has indicated that they will be using most of the space at Barry Beach, from late 2026 to early 2028 for the first stage of its decommissioning works, with subsequent stages to follow.
QBE, Gippsland Ports and the South Gippsland Shire Council have been contacted for comment
