Page 10 - AsianOil Week 34 2021

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Australia passes offshore

decomm regulations

POLICY AUSTRALIA’S parliament passed new leg-
islation this week that aims to strengthen the
country’s offshore decommissioning regulatory
framework.
Australian Minister for Resources Keith
Pitt said on August 26 that the new regulation,
which he sponsored, would bolster the govern-
ment’s oversight and scrutiny of a range of com-
pany transactions to ensure that those looking
to operate within the upstream had the financial
resources and technical capability to decommis-
sion safely.
The new regulations also expand the govern-
ment’s ability to call on a previous titleholder to
pay for decommissioning and environmental
remediation if they sell a title and the new title-
holder is then unable to meet their financial
obligations.
These changes come after the government The measures in the Offshore Petroleum and
was saddled with decommissioning the stranded Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Titles
Northern Endeavour floating production, stor- Administration and Other Measures) Bill pack-
age and offloading (FPSO) vessel as well as age will become law six months after they receive
associated oilfields in the western Timor Sea Royal Assent, with the trailing liability provi-
after operator Northern Oil & Gas Australia sions applying from January 1.
(NOGA) entered voluntary administration in The new measures come as opposition to
September 2019 and left only a skeleton crew offshore exploration mounts, with protesters
running the vessel from November 2019. The having targeted ConocoPhillips’ planned explo-
government hired Upstream Production Solu- ration off the coast of King Island.
tions (Upstream PS) in February 2020 to operate
the Northern Endeavour in lighthouse mode. Marine protest
Pitt said this week that the new laws would Activists from the Otway Climate Emergency
ensure that taxpayers were not left to pick up Action Network (OCEAN) mounted a pro-
the costs of future decommissioning work on test on August 15, using surfboards to position
offshore oil and gas projects. The official has themselves in front of the US super-major’s seis-
previously warned that the total cost of decom- mic survey vessel ship in Corio Port in Geelong.
missioning Australia’s oil and gas rigs would hit Pitt condemned the protest on August 19 and
AUD60bn ($43.6bn) and that these new laws said the activists should abide by the National
were needed to prevent a repeat of the Northern Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental
Endeavour incident. Management Authority (NOPSEMA) deci-
Pitt said: “The trailing liability provisions will sion in early August to approve the exploration
be an action of last resort when all other safe- programme.
guards have been exhausted and will reduce the NOPSEMA approved ConocoPhillips’
risk that the financial costs of decommissioning request to conduct seismic testing across 4,090
will be left to Australian taxpayers.” square km of sea that includes part of the Zeehan
He added: “It also sets the expectation that Marine Park.
sellers will undertake appropriate due diligence “The National Offshore Petroleum Safety
before selling assets, titles and infrastructure, so and Environmental Management Authority is
they can avoid being called back to decommis- regarded as a world-leading regulator of the
sion and remediate title areas.” industry and people can be assured any work
Administration will also be improved, ena- will be carried out under the strictest guide-
bling electronic lodgement of applications and lines,” Pitt said.
documents. “Activists disrupting the project are clearly
Pitt said: “The measures strike the right bal- driven by extreme ideology. They refuse to
ance between investment in the offshore oil and acknowledge the facts around the industry.
gas industry and managing a maturing industry, NOPSEMA has ensured that gas exploration
demonstrating this government’s ongoing com- has occurred safely in this area for decades and
mitment to a best practice, globally recognised operated alongside other industries, including
oil and gas sector.” tourism, with no harm to the environment.”™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 34 26•August•2021