BEACH Energy announced it has "no planned activities" in the state's South East last week with its Penola gas plant also set to cease operation in the coming months.
This comes as the energy giant awaits results from its recently completed Dombey 3D Geological Survey with the data to be used to assess opportunities for future additional gas production at the Katnook Gas Plant.
The survey was conducted over the course of 88 days and covered an area of 165sqkm, covering a range of properties with various land uses.
With processing and interpretation of data expected to be completed in the last half of 2023, the Katnook plant will be "mothballed" according to Beach Energy community manager Jon Conti.
"Katnook will be shut down in a few months time but it's still producing gas right now," he said.
"It's still taking gas from the Haselgrove-3 down to the South East gas users in Mount Gambier and across to Kimberley Clark.
"Once that slows down we will mothball the plant which essentially means the plant just goes into a steady state where it can then be restarted if there's future gas to deliver."
Although the plant will cease operation, Mr Conti assured it would have no impact on gas supply in the region with the full allotment of gas for the daily intake of SE users sourced from other operational areas.
Mr Conti said the survey results would allow for Beach to understand future opportunities and would mean fewer speculative wells will need to be drilled.
"It takes between 12 to 18 months to go through the data from the survey," he said.
"When we do surveys we collect terabytes of data which then needs to be processed into what then becomes a 3D geological model of the subsurface.
"If there is an active petroleum system and a gas reservoir in the subsurface, the model will determine how big or how small that is and whether it can be developed as a commercial gas reservoir."
Mr Conti said if there were any plans to drill after the results were released regional stakeholders and land holders would be consulted to start the process again.
"In the meantime, we still have our permits and we still have our obligations to our land holders who have existing assets on their property," he said.
"We still have our obligations in the community and we're still remaining active in the community.
"We're currently rehabilitating three legacy well sites and returning that land to the farmers and we have some more of that work in the pipeline over the next 12 to 24 months."
Additionally, Beach will close the doors to its Penola office this month, which was opened in 2019 on Church Street but will still maintain a local presence in the region through local resident Lucille Bailey.
Limestone Coast Protection Alliance chair Angus Ralton said the announcement Beach would cease South East operations was fantastic news for the region.
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"It's a big win for us if they stop drilling in the South East all together - but the fight is not over," he said.
"Our focus now turns to what the state and federal governments have done in support of fossil fuels as opposed to renewables.
"The money they have spent in support of gas mining in the South East could've been used to move along the transition into renewables but instead they threw it away on an industry they know we have to move on from.
"Given the state government has declared a climate emergency we want an outright ban on all exploration and extraction of fossil fuels in the Limestone Coast to keep in line with that declaration."
An Energy and Mining Department spokesperson said there were no plans ban gas extraction in the state but there were also no plans to change the fracking moratorium in the South East.
"Local industries for timber milling, food, wine and paper products, such as that through the Kimberley Clark paper mill, has relied on gas for decades as an accepted and reliable energy source," they said.
"Gas remains a very important component of the energy mix for SA and will continue to do so into the future.
"Programs such as carbon capture and storage being implemented at Moomba will help the state and industry meet its net carbon emissions targets."