Bunbury Energy

The Community wants access to accurate information

Building a social licence is the price of exploration

Bunbury Energy is an Australian-owned and operated oil and gas exploration company working to contribute to future energy self-sufficiency for WA's South West region. But with a shift in the public's demand to know more about onshore oil and gas exploration, it needed to develop its social licence.

The challenge

In recent years, the community in the South West has signalled that when it comes to onshore oil and gas exploration, it wants greater access to knowledge and facts.

Junior explorer Bunbury Energy recognised this need, and reflecting the shift, the State Government signalled that all future exploration permits would require the proponent to demonstrate an ability to build a social licence in the locations they were seeking to explore.

Cannings Purple was challenged to design a social licence strategy for Bunbury Energy that would be measured by effective relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders including the community and regulator.

What we did

Our approach

Cannings Purple’s solution sought to establish the company’s corporate reputation within the community and engage with stakeholders in order to shape the detailed planning of non-invasive seismic studies.

While the company’s exploration does not involve hydraulic fracturing, online campaigning against fracking meant it was important to clarify the processes that would be used. This needed to take place across a number of communication channels and an ongoing presence to establish relationships.

Importantly, Bunbury Energy needed a track record of reliability in order to lead the discussion on the proposal.

Through extensive analysis and after learning the depth and multitude of interests at play, Cannings Purple helped Bunbury Energy share clear and contemporary information with stakeholders. We captured learnings and the experience of community members and helped the company continue to refine its communication with the community.

Our results

An investment in community engagement pays dividends.

Bunbury Energy was able to establish direct relationships across the relevant stakeholder groups and these continue to be fostered. Innovative online engagement techniques were also deployed, including a social media and digital content engagement strategy.
Bunbury Energy has now been granted an exploration permit and the company is preparing for further investment in the region, including detailed design of the initial phase of exploration.

Engagement

Multiple rounds of stakeholder engagement

Community

We reaffirmed Bunbury Energy's role in the South West.

Factual information

We supported the sharing of factual, independent information

Quote from client

“Cannings Purple not only has skills and abilities in community engagement, but also strengths in regulatory and political engagement making it a one stop shop for any strategic engagement programme. The team is not only well-versed in the oil and gas industry – they are ethical and socially responsible. These are key attributes for all of our partners."