Lakes Oil to sue Victorian government

Dec. 9, 2016
Lakes Oil Ltd. of Melbourne is suing the government of Victoria for $2.7 billion (Aus.) in damages following the state’s ban on onshore gas exploration. The writ was filed in the Supreme Court.

Lakes Oil Ltd. of Melbourne is suing the government of Victoria for $2.7 billion (Aus.) in damages following the state’s ban on onshore gas exploration. The writ was filed in the Supreme Court.

The company claims the government of Premier Daniel Andrews has deprived it of an opportunity to use its exploration permits “for the purpose for which they were intended.”

Lakes added that “the unjust an unlawful actions of the Victorian government, and its proposed bill to ban onshore exploration, have caused significant losses to the company and its 11,000 long-standing shareholders.”

The Andrews government has introduced a bill to ban fracking and all exploration and development of unconventional onshore gas and maintained its moratorium on all onshore exploration until 2020.

Lakes is seeking damages for $92 million in past expenditure and in excess of $2.6 billion in lost future earnings.