Golden Beach Energy Storage Project
The Golden Beach Energy Storage Project is located about 250 km south-east of Melbourne near Golden Beach in Gippsland.
GB Energy (Vic) Pty Ltd, as the authority holder of retention lease VIC/RL1(V), is proposing to develop an offshore gas field in Victorian state waters about 3 km from the Ninety Mile Beach coastline.
The project is focused on providing a gas storage facility for Australia’s east coast gas markets. Read more on the GB Energy website.
Background
GB Energy completed initial geophysical and geotechnical investigations for the project in 2020 to gather preliminary information on seabed conditions and shallow geology to prepare for future drilling and pipeline laying.
Between June and July 2023, the company drilled an appraisal well with the results informing the design and operation of the proposed production and storage wells and associated infrastructure for the project.
Environment plans for these activities were submitted and accepted by the Minister for Energy and Resources before works commenced.
More recently, the minister has accepted environment plans for additional geotechnical and geophysical investigations scheduled for early 2026. The data collected will inform the location of the project’s offshore infrastructure.
Summaries of all accepted environment plans are available on Resources Victoria’s environment plans page
Current status
Geotechnical and geophysical investigations are scheduled to commence in February 2026. They are expected to take about 10 to 12 days to complete.
GB Energy submitted an environment plan in January 2026 for its offshore gas drilling campaign (scheduled for the second half of 2026). This plan is now being assessed to determine if it is acceptable, including ensuring that operations will be managed in accordance with the Environment Effects Statement.
A summary of the accepted plan will be published on our environment plans page.
Compliance
Resources Victoria monitors offshore activities to ensure they align with their accepted environment plans and comply with the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2010.
We work closely with the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) to undertake a program of compliance inspections related to all offshore activities.
Community engagement, questions and concerns
GB Energy is responsible for keeping the community informed about its activities and for responding to any questions and concerns. These can be directed to the company via:
Environmental assessments
In September 2019, the Minister for Planning determined an Environment Effects Statement (EES) for GB Energy’s proposed project was required under the Environment Effects Act 1978.
An EES is an assessment of the potential impacts on the environment of a proposed project or development. Learn more about the EES process at the Department of Transport and Planning website.
The company’s full EES is available on GB Energy’s website.
Following public exhibition of this EES, a submitter conference and a report from the independent Golden Beach Gas Project Inquiry, the Minister for Planning completed his assessment in April 2021. His assessment found that the project could proceed subject to the modifications and recommendations outlined in the Minister’s assessment.
On 20 May 2021 the Federal Government granted approval under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) for the Golden Beach Gas Project to proceed with conditions attached. Read the Notification of Approval Decision on the EPBC Act Public Portal.
Page last updated: 29 Jan 2026