It could be months before a verdict in Lakes Oil’s battle against Victoria’s gas ban

It could take up to three months for Gina Rinehart-backed Lakes Oil to find out if it has won a Supreme Court battle to overturn Victoria’s ban on gas exploration.

Lakes Oil (ASX:LKO) told investors today that the judge had reserved his decision following a two-day hearing.

“My understanding is that in the Supreme Court, when a decision is reserved it could take any time really to reach a decision, but the average time is about two or three months,” chairman Chris Tonkin told Stockhead.

Last year Victoria suspended conventional onshore gas exploration until 2020 and permanently banned unconventional exploration including hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) and coal seam gas.

Lakes Oil had been undertaking gas exploration in Victoria prior to the ban, spending more than $80 million in the state.

The court battle comes in the lead up to the state election, which is penned in for November this year.

• Bookmark this link for small cap breaking news
• Discuss small cap news in our Facebook group
• Follow us on Facebook or Twitter
• Subscribe to our daily newsletter

However, Mr Tonkin thinks that Lakes Oil had a “fair hearing”.

“I think the fact the judge reserved his decision shows it’s not a clear decision and there’s a lot of material to go over, but I think we came out of the two days feeling quite reasonable about it all,” he said.

Meanwhile, mining mogul Ms Rinehart has had her stake in the junior gas explorer diluted down to 12.3 per cent from just over 14 per cent previously.