Lakes Oil is confident it can tap into potential reserves north of Warrnambool and Port Fairy with conventional techniques rather than controversial fracking, which is vigorously opposed by environmentalists.

The company believes there could be enough gas to last for decades and supply Geelong, Melbourne and south-west towns, as well as potential development of a power station and petrochemical plant at Portland.

Lakes Oil chairman Robert Annells has taken his case to Energy and Resources Minister Lily D’Ambrosio in the hope the government will alter the blanket moratorium to permit two proof-of-concept wells to be drilled.

He told The Standard he considered the ban on all types of petroleum exploration drilling to be excessive and triggered by pre-election pressures.

“All we are asking for is commonsense to allow two conventional wells to be sunk to prove if the reserves are there,” he said.

“Further permits can be negotiated later.

“I’m as concerned about the environment as anyone else.

“We are confident there are other ways of finding the gas sweet spots without fracking. Compressed air would be used with vertical drilling shafts, rather than mud with chemicals.”

Lakes Oil has re-analysed data from numerous oil exploration test wells sunk in the Eumeralla geological region during the 1960s and 70s and determined there is potentially substantial gas reserves spread across 40 kilometres ranging between one and two kilometres deep.

Beach Energy also has an interest in the area and Lakes Oil has another tenement east of the Iona gas field north of Port Campbell.

“There’s potentially a huge resource there that can provide cheap, clean gas near an interstate pipeline network and the best deep sea port in Australia,” Mr Annells said.

He will visit the south-west next week to meet south-west business representatives and will also speak with Port Fairy MP James Purcell, who made a strong stance against unconventional exploration methods in his election campaign.

Mr Purcell said he would hear from both sides of the argument before deciding whether to support a renewal of conventional exploration permits.

“I don’t have a problem with traditional methods, but promises of jobs for 20 years is not going to stack up if water is destroyed for 20,000 years,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Victorian branch of Lock The Gate movement has organised a community meeting in Peterborough on Good Friday to discuss unconventional gas in the region.

The group is running a community survey in Brucknell, close to a proposed Lakes Oil well, asking residents their attitudes towards the industry. 

Local landholder Debbie Dalziel said she was worried Lakes Oil’s push would be the thin edge of the wedge for developments and onshore horizontal drilling, with or without hydraulic fracking.