Protect Our Community and Environment
Viva Energy’s Polluting Gas Import Terminal Proposal is back again!
After being sent back to the drawing board last year, Viva has done new studies and resubmitted a ‘supplementary’ Environment Effects Statement (EES), meaning that Viva Energy’s Polluting Gas Import Terminal Proposal is back again!
We have been in campaign mode the past few months in opposition to this awful project.
Let’s make our voices loud and clear: we will not sit back and allow this project to threaten our community and our future.
Join our Protest in the Park—a major public event run to oppose Viva Energy’s proposed Gas Import Terminal by creating a powerful human sign.
When: 12 – 2.30pm, Sunday 23 February
Where: Moorpanyal Park, The Esplanade, North Shore
This event aims to send a clear message to the Planning Minister ahead of her decision on this critical issue.
Take Action Now
Email your MP
We need to ensure our state politicians and the Minister for Planning hear our concerns. Sending an email is quick and impactful, and we’ve made it incredibly easy for you. You can use our ‘Email your MP’ tool to call on your MP to protect our environment, our safety, and our bay by rejecting this flawed project once and for all—it takes only one minute to do!
Get postcards out to your community
We have developed postcards highlighting our key concerns about this proposal addressed to the Planning Minister. We want thousands of people in our community writing individual messages in opposition to this project. We are looking for volunteers to come pick up postcards, get their community to sign them, and then return the signed postcards to us. We will then take a huge amount of postcards expressing the community’s opposition to this project directly to the Planning Minister. Organise to come pick up some postcards by emailing Karina on [email protected]
About Viva’s Gas Import Terminal
Viva Energy is proposing to build a new gas import terminal in Corio Bay. The project would see a floating storage and regasification unit continuously moored at the new Refinery Pier berth. The terminal would be located in our iconic and beautiful bay area making it eye sore for the majority of views of the bay from Geelong.The project would bring gas from other parts of the country and overseas to supply the south-eastern Australia market, a disaster for our climate. We will also have gas tankers coming and going within kms of schools and communities raising concerns about safety.
At a time when the world is facing a climate emergency, it is crucial to transition away from fossil fuels and invest in sustainable energy solutions. Projects like the Viva Gas Terminal move us in the wrong direction.
The Minister of Planning Inquiry and Advisory Committee’s found the Environmental Effect Statement (EES) deficient in multiple ways and requested for Viva Energy to resubmit supplementary statements, which were made public on Thursday 12 September.
We asked the community to put in submissions and a huge 387 of you took time out to create individualised submissions in opposition to this proposal.
If you put in a submission, thank you for making your voice heard by writing your opposition to the Viva Gas Import Terminal. Your submissions play a crucial role in the Environmental Effect Statement process and hearings and we are incredibly grateful for your support in this.
Submissions were just the beginning of a larger and longer community campaign to oppose Viva Energy’s Gas Import Terminal.
Make your voice heard—send a letter to your MP today.
Right now Victorians are dealing with cost of living pressures on top of an escalating climate crisis, and Viva’s plan to import gas will be terrible for both.
An LNG import terminal would push gas bills even higher and expose us to future price shocks from the international gas market. And it risks locking in a polluting, dirty fuel for decades to come – right when we need to speed up the transition to renewable energy.
Half of Victoria’s gas consumption happens in homes via inefficient gas appliances that are hurting hip pockets and harming the health of our children. We need to step up efforts to repower Victorian homes with renewable electricity and leave gas in the past where it belongs.
Community Opposition
What an incredible turnout for the Protest Picnic against the Viva Energy Gas Import Terminal! Despite the terrible weather and relocating indoors, over 160 passionate community members came together, proving once again the strength of our region and our opposition to this proposal.
Our protest also gained national attention with ABC News and other local media in attendance. This media coverage amplifies our message and highlights the growing momentum of our campaign. Let’s capitalise on this energy and take the next step by emailing your MP.
Why this Project is Problematic
Geelong Sustainability is concerned about a number of factors including the climate impacts, safety concerns, environmental concerns and cultural heritage impacts. The areas of concerns are identified below:

1. This is a disaster for the climate!
The impact of an approved Viva Gas Import Terminal would extend far beyond Geelong, adversely affecting the entire region. This is not just a local issue but a regional one, with far-reaching consequences for climate resilience and climate mitigation. The project’s climate impact is substantial and fundamentally incompatible with Victoria’s emissions targets. Viva Energy estimates that gas delivered via the terminal would account for 12% of Victoria’s 2022 emissions and 34% of the state’s 2035 emissions target. This directly hinders progress toward achieving these goals and promotes continued reliance on fossil fuels.
2. Safety and Navigation Risks
Safety, navigation, and security concerns further underscore why this project is unsuitable for Corio Bay. The proposed site is too close to residential properties (within 220m of North Shore homes), and the Corio Bay shipping channel is not designed to accommodate large LNG carriers safely.
Rival LNG import terminal proponent, Vopak has highlighted the depth and breadth challenges of the channel, likely requiring transit only at high tide and safe anchorage being many kilometres away. Viva Energy has failed to meaningfully engagement with Ports Victoria regarding security and exclusion zones.
1. Corio Bay Shipping Channel unsuitable for LNG Carriers (LNGCs): The shipping channel in Corio Bay presents several challenges for the operation of LNGCs, particularly due to its insufficient depth. A typical LNG tanker is approximately 300 metres long and 43 metres wide, with a draft extending 12 metres underwater. The Geelong Channel, however, is only 11.9 metres deep at high tide and 10.6 metres at low tide, making it too shallow for these vessels under normal conditions.
This means that the channel would require significantly more dredging than Viva Energy states in their EES to accommodate LNGCs safely. The combination of the narrow channel width and varying depths leaves minimal room for emergency manoeuvres or safe navigation, especially during low tide, which increases the risk of grounding or other navigational hazards.
2. LNG Incidents and Community Safety: The findings of Sandia National Laboratories, which conducted comprehensive safety and hazard assessments of LNG transport, highlight the potential for severe public safety hazards from thermal radiation and flammable vapour clouds, with hazard zones extending up to 3,500 metres from a spill site. Viva Energy has not adequately addressed these findings in their risk assessments. The close proximity of the shipping channel to homes in the northern suburbs means more than 30,000 homes are within the incident zones.
3. Viva Energy’s Supplementary EES is Deficient
There are several key shortcomings in Viva’s supplementary EES that clearly make this project untenable and provide good grounds for the Minister to put a stop to this project once and for all.
1. Inadequate Marine Studies: The current studies lack comprehensive year-round monitoring, detailed chlorine plume data, and accurate seagrass impact assessments, undermining their reliability and failing to mitigate environmental impacts on Corio Bay. The marine studies have been poorly conducted, with the consultant largely disregarding peer reviewer feedback, see following point.
2. Peer Review Findings and Unresolved Concerns: The peer review conducted by Stantec of Viva Energy’s marine environment studies (Attachment I Peer Review Report B) identified several unaddressed gaps and key issues.
“It is Stantec’s recommendation that without further details on the statistical measures used in the analysis we are unable to confirm whether the assessment adequately addresses recommendations 1d, 7c and 8b of the Ministers Direction’s.”
Importantly, the peer review highlighted numerous concerns and ongoing issues which persisted at the conclusion of the peer review. Changes made to the studies by Viva Energy following the peer review did not undergo further peer evaluation, raising concerns about the thoroughness and accuracy of the final assessments.
An additional peer review by Stantec dated 20th November 2024 at the request of the IAC has confirmed numerous unresolved deficiencies in regards to Hydrodynamic Modelling and Marine Ecology. Viva Energy’s final ‘Technical Report A’ has not satisfactorily addressed the independent peer reviewers feedback and significant concerns remain.
3. Failure to Provide Cultural Values Assessment: The cultural heritage impacts on Aboriginal sites remain unaddressed, Viva Energy has failed to comply with the Minister for Planning’s Directions (recommendation 12) regarding the Cultural Values Assessment (CVA).
Without a Cultural Values Assessment (CVA) it should be impossible for this proposal to proceed as a thorough understanding of potential impacts on Aboriginal cultural heritage remains unknown.
The deficiencies and serious concerns identified in the Viva Energy’s Supplementary EES make it clear that this project should not proceed.
Why this Project?
Our Federal Government has built gas into the Powering Australia plan with their aim to hit net-zero emissions by 2050, a decision Geelong Sustainability have been very vocally disappointed about. Australia currently exports a huge 80 percent of its gas, but the government prompts a narrative that we are going to “run out of gas” by 2027. This has resulted in state and federal governments approving projects and infrastructure that will lock us into gas well beyond 2050.
Why Gas Is Not the Answer
Gas is a fossil fuel that contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. We understand that gas plays a role in the energy transition, particularly in some firming renewable energy sources in the transition. However, our stance is clear: the use of gas must reduce rapidly and serve only as an interim solution. New gas infrastructure is inconsistent with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, and risks becoming a stranded asset. According to IEEFA research, only small amounts of gas will be required for firming—around 4 percent of East Coast production. We oppose any new gas extraction or import terminals, such as those proposed in Corio Bay (Viva) or Port Phillip Bay (Vopak). Instead, we advocate for a transition pathway that includes gas demand reduction, peak demand response, and careful management of existing gas fields. By reducing our reliance on gas, we can achieve our zero emissions target by 2035 and build a sustainable future.
The Power of Community Involvement
Our campaign is driven by the power of community involvement. It is through collective action and people power that we can make a significant impact. Everyone’s participation is crucial, whether through direct advocacy, volunteering, attending public demonstrations or spreading the word. Together we can protect our community and environment from harmful projects like the Viva Energy Gas Import Terminal. Mobilising our community is at the heart of our approach, as we believe that when we stand united, we are stronger and more effective.
How You Can Help
Donate to our campaign effort
Your donation can make a real difference in our fight to protect our community and environment
Subscribe to our climate campaign email list
Stay updated on this project and receive important event information
Become a volunteer
Join Geelong Sustainability’s Climate Advocacy Task Force
Follow us on social media
Get updates and share the campaign with your community
Our Approach
We have been actively lobbying our local representatives, and plan to continue increasing our direct advocacy and campaign work to ensure that the Minister for Planning understands the full extent of the community’s opposition to the Viva Energy Gas Import Terminal. We will also put pressure on Viva Energy through direct advocacy, public demonstrations and legal challenges to the project. Additionally, we will raise the voices of our community by amplifying the concerns of local residents, ensuring their voices are heard loud and clear. Finally, we will aim to reach a broader audience by enhancing our communication efforts through social media campaigns, media releases and partnerships with other environmental organisations to create widespread community support.
Your support is crucial in building the momentum and capacity needed to push back against the Viva Energy Gas Import Terminal and other harmful projects.
Together, we can create a sustainable future for our community.
Geelong Renewables Not Gas
Geelong Sustainability is a proud member of the Geelong Renewables Not Gas coalition. Geelong Renewables Not Gas is an alliance of community groups that formed in response to the threat of Viva Energy’s proposed gas terminal. It consists of many community and environment groups, see https://geelongrenewablesnotgas.org/about-us/