Oil and gas company Triangle Operations – a subsidiary of Triangle Global - entered voluntary administration last week, alongside joint venture partner Pilot Energy.

CCWA Executive Director Matt Roberts said a mess of this size could have been avoided if the Federal Government had acted sooner to hold both companies to account for decommissioning the Cliff Head oil and gas field off Dongara.  

"Even though production at Cliff Head ceased in 2024, Triangle's Joint Venture partner Pilot Energy was granted $6.5 million in taxpayers' money to fund a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, despite serious questions being raised about its financial integrity,” Mr Roberts said.

"The CCS project, otherwise known as carbon dumping, was simply a case of using failed technology to delay decommissioning obligations by using tax-payer money to extend the life of this project. This will not be the only company that seeks to use CCS and government grants to delay or avoid decommissioning.

"And, as CCWA warned in January this year, all companies have now folded, leaving a $200 million dollar clean-up bill and a stranded asset sitting off the coast of Dongara.

"This is an issue we’ve known about for years. The Albanese Government committed to decommissioning reforms after the Northern Endeavour calamity in 2020, but has been far too slow to act.

"These reforms were meant to introduce a financial assurance regime to ensure that oil and gas operators have sufficient funds available to deliver on their clean up, but as far as we know, these reforms have stalled. Meanwhile, liabilities off the coast of WA continue to grow.

"The question for Resources Minister Madeleine King is, when will the financial assurances reforms come through? The Cliff Head situation shows that we need clarity, transparency and security now. With $60b in decommissioning liabilities sitting offshore across Australia, there’s no time to waste.

"By delaying these reforms any further, the government runs the risk of more unfunded liabilities and more stranded assets.

“We’re calling on oil and gas companies to report on their liabilities project-by-project, to increase accountability and improve accuracy on cost estimates for decommissioning.

"Oil and gas companies must be legally required to set aside dedicated clean-up funds and upfront security now - not after they've already left, collapsed, or offloaded the liability onto a smaller player.

"We have billions of dollars of oil and gas decommissioning work which will need to begin by 2030, according to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources.

“Beyond a failure in the financial assurance, the real tragedy is that we’re missing a huge opportunity to establish a decommissioning industry in WA.

“The huge volume of work required is a chance for WA to create local jobs in decommissioning and steel recycling – jobs that are working to protect the environment, rather than destroy it. If the Premier is serious about diversifying our economy this is real opportunity,” he said.

ENDS

Media Contact: John Cooke – 0433 679 780

Timeline of the Cliff Head Project: