Advent Energy has asked the Federal Court to force the NSW government to progress its assessment of the controversial PEP11 offshore gas exploration project.
The NSW Joint Authority is required to make a recommendation to the Commonwealth regarding whether it should approve the project.
Advent lodged the application with the joint authority more than 200 days ago.
Dissatisfied with the lack of progress, it lodged an application this week for a judicial review in the Federal Court.
It is seeking a declaration that the joint authority has breached an implied duty by failing to make a decision under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006.
It has requested that the court order the joint authority to determine the matter within 45 days.
The PEP11 zone extends from Port Stephens to south of Sydney. The target exploration zone is in Commonwealth waters 26 kilometres off Lake Munmorah.
Advent Energy's managing director, David Breeze, recently told the Newcastle Herald that the company remained committed to its plans because it believed PEP11 was urgently needed to provide energy security to the eastern states.
"The need for gas has become much more critical," Mr Breeze said.
"Gas in NSW in the last few weeks has gone from $15 a gigajoule to $19 a gigajoule."
"The failure of the gas policy is affecting jobs and it's affecting homeowners," he said.
"NSW is suffering the highest rate of business insolvencies relative to past times, inflation is still at a high and the cost of energy is a key point there. It's critical that this project proceeds."
A NSW government spokesman said the government was aware of the court proceedings.
"As the matter is before the court, no further comment can be made at this time," he said.
Both the state and federal governments have previously opposed the project.
The project was sensationally stopped late in 2021 when former prime minister Scott Morrison intervened directly to override then resources minister Keith Pitt.
The state government recently introduced legislation banning offshore petroleum drilling projects, such as PEP11, in NSW coastal waters.
The legislation was driven, in part, by a significant public backlash against the PEP11 project in recent years.
It has seen coastal communities and MPs between the Hunter and Sydney participate in protests against the project.
Despite that, Advent highlighted research that showed significant community concern about the impact of gas shortages and support for PEP11.
The Surfers for Climate group has hit back with a survey of 1300 people across Australia. Its survey found 98 per cent of respondents "strongly supported" the legislation banning offshore gas exploration.
According to the survey, in the Central Coast and Upper Hunter region including Newcastle, 100 per cent of respondents, 62 per cent of whom were new to Surfers for Climate, supported the Bill.
According to the survey, the top three reasons respondents gave for supporting the Minerals Legislation Amendment were to conserve the marine environment for future generations, protect beaches from pollution and to focus on more clean energy jobs.
