CCWA Executive Director Matt Roberts said the outcome of the Federal Court case brought against National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) and fossil fuel company Santos by the Wilderness Society was "of grave concern". 

"This decision clearly shows that when it comes to regulating oil and gas corporations, Australia’s laws are broken," Mr Roberts said.  

"In a judgement released on Friday, the Federal Court found that NOPSEMA was not legally required to be satisfied Santos had the financial capacity to clean up its ageing Reindeer gas field off the Pilbara coast. 

“Our laws fail when they don’t require multinational oil and gas corporations to take responsibility for cleaning up after themselves in our oceans. We’ve seen the failures of Australia’s oil and gas decommissioning laws play out multiple times now. 

“Just last month, two companies, Pilot Energy and Triangle Energy both ceased trading, leaving a stranded asset sitting off the coast of Dongara in WA's Mid West, leaving a $200 million clean-up bill. 

“We’ve been here before, when Woodside offloaded its Northern Endeavour decommissioning liabilities to a company that went broke. After that debacle, the federal government said it would reform Australia’s decommissioning laws, yet here we are, still waiting. 

“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, upfront clean-up funds now - not after they've already left, collapsed, or offloaded the liability onto a smaller player. 

“Australian taxpayers and the marine life we all cherish are left vulnerable when corporations are allowed to leave toxic oil and gas assets to rot in our oceans.  

"This disappointing legal outcome is yet another example of this process failing our communities, nature and the environment. 

"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.  

“More than 5.7 million tonnes of material will need to be removed from our oceans nationally, with 89% of that infrastructure located in WA waters.  

“This level of decommissioning work is a massive liability, and it’s up to the government to make sure gas companies, not taxpayers, are the ones paying for the clean-up and the loopholes are closed to prevent the offloading of liabilities or delays.” 

ENDS 

Media contact: John Cooke – 0433 679 780