The US oil and gas company seeking to explore off the coast of King Island has rejected a claim by an environmental group that it is attempting to be less than transparent about its plans.
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They also disputed that drilling gas wells poses a significant threat of a catastrophic spill.
A spokesperson for ConocoPhillips Australia said there was an estimated 0.016 per cent chance of one of its well heads becoming uncontrolled and releasing hydrocarbons into Bass Strait.
Even if such an event happened, gas wells pose much less of a risk of environmental contamination than oil wells, the spokesperson said.
"If a loss of control were to occur, modelling shows that the majority of the release condensate would evaporate during the first day," the spokesperson said.
The Australian Marine Conservation Society last week condemned the oil and gas company's plans, saying an uncontrolled well head could contaminate waters across four states, including Tasmania.
The group evoked the memory of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, where a British Petroleum oil well head became uncontrolled and spilled millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, contaminating waters and shorelines for hundreds of miles.
AMCS oil and gas campaign manager Louise Morris also claimed a lack of transparency in the plans.
She said the public was given a just month to examine Conoco Phillips' 810-page environmental plan lodged with the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA).
But the company spokesperson refuted that claim.
"The draft Environmental Plan chapters were released for consultation on 31 August 2023 and when public comment closes on 18 December 2023 it will have been available to the public for 110 days for review," the spokesperson said.
ConocoPhillips has also staged consultations about its plans for the Otway Basin since February 2023, including through webinars, community information sessions, information sheets, an online consultation hub, and face-to-face meetings, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also addressed AMCS' concerns that the company had yet to disclose precise locations of its proposed drill sites.
"The process for selecting drilling locations is a complex and multidisciplinary effort that requires skilled professionals and advanced technology."
ConocoPhillips is seeking to conduct surveys and drill six exploration wells in its Otway Basin licence area in the hopes of finding commercially viable gas supplies.
Consumers in the south-eastern parts of Australia have seen massive price rises in recent years, as geopolitical concerns and dwindling recoveries from existing Bass Strait operations drove up gas prices.
