Offshore regulator investigates Woodside spill off WA's Ningaloo coast
The federal offshore energy regulator is investigating Woodside Energy's management of an oil spill off Western Australia's north west coast.
The "unplanned discharge" occurred on May 8 amid decommissioning activities at the Griffin oil and gas field, about 58 kilometres north-west of Exmouth.
A subsea pipeline was being flushed when engineers noticed the release of fluids and called off the operation.
In a statement, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) said about 61,000 litres of water and hydrocarbons was discharged into the surrounding ocean.
Of that, a NOPSEMA spokesperson said about 16,000 litres may be hydrocarbons.
"NOPSEMA is aware of the incident and it is currently under investigation," they said.
"NOPSEMA's position is to ensure titleholders undertake decommissioning activities in a safe and timely manner."
A Woodside spokesperson said the company was monitoring the spill and working with the regulator.
The spokesperson acknowledged the spill contained "remnant aged hydrocarbon and residual chemicals".
Hydrocarbons are the chief components of petroleum and natural gas.
Woodside said a team of environmental scientists was dispatched to monitor the spill and deployed tracking buoys.
The gas giant said it anticipated no contact with shorelines or sensitive marine habitats, despite its proximity to the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef.
Production at the Griffin field was halted by BHP in 2009, and the company had plugged all 12 wells before Woodside took control of the mining giant's oil and gas assets via merger in 2022.
With the remnant infrastructure sitting in Commonwealth waters, NOPSEMA directed Woodside to decommission it.
At the time of the spill, 18 of 21 Griffin pipelines had been successfully flushed in preparation for removal.
The site has previously come under fire by regulators and environmentalists.
Greenpeace criticised Woodside in 2021 for leaving a 93-metre-tall "riser turret mooring" in the seabed, where it had been sunk years prior by BHP.
Woodside eventually recovered the structure in December 2024 after NOPSEMA threatened fines.
The incident comes as Woodside awaits final federal approval for its North West Shelf gas hub extension to operate through to 2070.
The plant processes natural gas pulled from the continental shelf surrounding the Griffin field spill site, and one of the largest known reserves of the resource in Australia.
The day of the spill also coincided with Woodside's annual general meeting in Perth, where protesters disrupted proceedings to highlight concerns over climate change.
Shortly afterwards, the company announced it had amended its proposed Browse development in the Kimberley, following mediation with WA's Environmental Protection Agency.
Woodside said it would shrink the project's footprint to no longer include Scott Reef shallow water habitats or Sandy Islet.
It also pledged to implement a newly-trialled technology that could minimise the risk of a subsea spill and "immediately stop the flow of hydrocarbons to the environment" within just 12 hours.
Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt is set to make his decision in coming days.
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