The Australian Government has opened up 80,000 square kilometres (30,000 square miles) of coastal waters for oil and gas exploration amid a shortage of supplies on the nation’s two key commodities. Industry stakeholders will be expected to bid for exploration rights in a total of 21 areas off the coasts of Western Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania—part of the 2021 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release unveiled this past week. Keith Pitt, Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia, said the exploration made good on Australia’s gas-fired recovery plan—a plan to support the nation’s recovery through affordable energy following the economic downturn caused by the Chinese Communist Party virus. “The annual Acreage Release is a crucial component of the Government’s gas-fired recovery plan,” Pitt said in a media release. “It is vitally important that Australians have access to reliable and affordable energy both now and in the future.” Pitt also said that …