Woodside toxic spill near Ningaloo Reef world heritage area under investigation
Australia's offshore energy regulator has launched an investigation into an oil and gas spill at a Woodside Energy project off the Pilbara coast in Western Australia.
An estimated 16,000 litres of petroleum products were released into the Indian Ocean on 8 May during decommissioning at the company's Griffin field, 58km north-west of Exmouth and 60km from Ningaloo marine park. The field stopped production in 2009.
The incident occurred near the company's North West Shelf project, one of the world's largest liquified natural gas projects. On Wednesday, the federal environment minister announced he proposed to approve Woodside's application to extend the life of the North West Shelf from 2030 to 2070.
A spokesperson for the offshore safety and environment regulator, NOPSEMA (National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority), confirmed the incident at the Griffin field was under investigation.
Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email
In total, about 61,000 litres of water, hydrocarbons and chemicals – the volume of a back yard swimming pool – were released into the ocean.
A Woodside spokesperson said that a pipeline was being flushed to remove any residual gas before it was recovered to the surface when engineers saw fluids released into the ocean and stopped the pumps.
'While the exact composition of the discharge remains subject to investigation, it is thought to contain a mixture of water, produced water, remnant aged hydrocarbons and residual chemicals,' the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said that since the incident a team of environmental scientists had monitored the discharge, with tracking buoys and spill modelling showing it was heading away from the coast.
'The risk to the marine environment is very low with no anticipated impact to shorelines or sensitive marine habitats,' they said.
Woodside has launched an internal investigation. The company said it had notified the relevant regulatory bodies and was supporting NOPSEMA's investigation.
In its 2023 decommissioning environment plan, Woodside Energy identified 32 threatened marine animals and 53 protected migratory species – including whale sharks, blue, humpback and southern right whales, loggerhead and leatherback turtles, dolphins and dugongs – within the affected environment.
In addition to the North West Shelf extension, Woodside is seeking approval for its Browse development, near Scott Reef.
In early 2024, the WA Environmental Protection Authority informed Woodside that its preliminary view was to reject Browse, with one of the main reasons being the risk of an oil spill affecting the pristine marine environment.
Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, the Greens' healthy oceans spokesperson, said: 'A toxic spill this close to the Ningaloo Reef world heritage area or the pristine Scott Reef has the potential to be devastating for marine wildlife, including thousands of species of whales, sharks, fish, turtles and corals.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
21 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Melbourne descends into chaos as thousands of wild A-League fans set off flares and heavily armed police are called in
Australian football fans flooded Melbourne 's streets, chanting anti-police slogans and letting off flares, in the lead-up to Saturday's A-League grand final. Melbourne City conquered rivals Melbourne Victory 1-0 at AAMI Park in front of almost 30,000 supporters. Before kick off, Victoria Police arrested a fan outside Precinct Hotel, pulling him through the crowd as hundreds marched to the stadium, The Herald Sun reported. In an attempt to control the flow of fans, at least 100m of traffic barricades were installed along the pub strip on Swan Street in Richmond. Police blocked it at 5:30pm and instructed fans to change their direction away from the railway bridge: 'No one under the bridge, no foot traffic under the bridge,' police said. Supporters could be heard yelling anti-police chants at G bar, a popular spot for Victory fans. They also lit bright flares below Richmond railway bridge. Footage taken on the Richmond streets showed officers standing in two rows as the crowd grew louder. Victoria Police said on Friday that officers would focus on preventing and de-escalating any incidents. The public was also warned officers would have 'zero tolerance' for anyone engaging in reckless or anti-social behaviour, before or after the match. Two weeks before the final, on May 17, Victoria Police said a group of soccer fans lit around 15 flares under a bridge on Swan Street while marching to a game. They said billowing smoke under the train line could disrupt the public transport network. Police bolstered resourcing around the stadium on Saturday night, surrounding licensed venues and public transport hubs throughout Richmond and the CBD. Officers worked with the mounted brigade, highway patrol, and the public order response team. Fortunately, fans were able to exit the grand final without incident. The police effort was carried out with the aim of avoiding a repeat of the shocking scenes from an infamous Mlebourne derby in 2022 that saw a pitch invasion and 29 arrests. Approximately 150 Victory supporters stormed the pitch that day, unleashing 80 flares or fireworks and forcing the abandonment of the Melbourne derby. Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover left the field bleeding from a head wound. Referee Alex King, two security guards and a camera operator were also injured following the mayhem. It followed a portion of Victory fans announcing plans pre-game via an Instagram page titled Original Style Melbourne (OSM) to storm the pitch after 20 minutes. The action was in protest of the controversial decision to hand Sydney grand final hosting rights until 2025.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
As Crocodile Dundee star Linda Kozlowski makes a rare public appearance in Los Angeles - why did the actress who claimed Paul Hogan's heart turn her back on fame?
Almost 40-years have passed since Crocodile Dundee turned Paul Hogan into a global star and his roguish titular character into one of Hollywood's most enduring money-spinners. Made on a relative micro-budget of just $10million and crafted predominantly for mainstream American cinema, the film grossed an astonishing $328million following its 1986 release and introduced Hogan - already a household name in his native Australia - to a wider audience. But as it changed Hogan's fortunes, so too did it impact those of his glamorous and hitherto unknown co-star, Linda Kozlowski. Born and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, Kozlowski was 27-years old when she won her first film role as Sue Charlton - the tenacious reporter hired to interview Mick 'Crocodile' Dundee before ultimately falling in love with him. It would be a career defining role for the actress, who would play Charlton across three films as Crocodile Dundee's initial success spawned a lucrative franchise. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. But it would also be the catalyst for a notable change in her personal life, with Kozlowski and Hogan developing an off-screen relationship that would lead to marriage in 1990 and, eight years later, the birth of their son, Chance. The couple would divorce in 2014 and Kozlowski has since found love with Moulay Hafid Baba, the Moroccan tour guide and location scout she met through friends and subsequently married in 2017. A low-key affair, the ceremony was reflective of Kozlowski's decision to turn her back on the film industry after years spent living beneath the tall shadow cast by Hogan and his hugely successful franchise. She told the Los Angeles Times in 1988 that she ended up being typecast by Hollywood casting directors after Crocodile Dundee - a film she described as a blessing and a curse. 'After Crocodile Dundee, I turned down lots of stuff, most of it where I'd play the girlfriend of some funny man,' she said. In an interview with Scripps Howard News Service in 2001, she discussed her choice to leave Hollywood behind and quit acting after starring a series of low-budget films with little or no commerical appeal. 'These straight-to-video schlocky films I was getting were giving me an ulcer, basically because I was the only one on the set that cared about anything,' she said at the time. 'I'd say, "Well, this scene doesn't make sense." [They would say,] "Aw, so what, just say the lines." [And] I thought, "This isn't fun anymore. This is not why I studied, it's not what I love." Between that and my biological clock, I decided to give it all away.' On Wednesday, the former actress made a rare public appearance with her ex-husband, their son Chance and Baba in Los Angeles. Kozlowski, who sported blonde hair while starring in three Crocodile Dundee films alongside Hogan, now has a shoulder length brunette locks. Opening up about their divorce in 2014, she told New Idea: 'Honestly, we just naturally grew apart. 'One of our problems was we really had nothing in common and, over time, that happens to a lot of people.' She insisted, however, that she and Paul were amicable. 'We've been separated to a certain degree for a long time,' she explained. 'The divorce is not sudden. It is very friendly. We talk all the time. We co-parent our son.' Between motherhood and 'living in Paul's shadow,' Linda was forced to retire from acting after being typecast in Hollywood, a source says. 'Linda loves acting, loves theater, loves the arts,' a source exclusively told the Daily Mail. But she felt like she was being offered 'pretty crappy roles' and 'started not liking' the industry as much as a result. 'She thought the roles and the rocket to superstardom were going to take her places she never even imagined. But the roles weren't there, she wasn't offered anything of substance,' the insider said. Since leaving Hollywood, Kozlowski divides her time between Los Angeles and Morocco, Baba's country of birth. Friends and business partners before embarking on a relationship, the couple launched Marrakech based company Dream My Destiny, which provides tours for tourists and location scouting for films, more than a decade ago. Speaking in 2014, Kozlowski said the experience and business venture had breathed new life into her ambitions following her divorce. 'Paul is very famous and I lived for a long time in his shadow,' she admitted. 'I feel good now to be out on my own and be doing my own things. 'My partner Baba really knows Morocco like the back of his hand,' she gushed. 'And combine that with my sense of what's happening now. What's hip, what's trendy, what do people want... What do the ladies want! I have a sense for that being an actress and traveler. 'So when you put us together we are really on top of the pulse of Morocco.' Two years ago the couple purchased a newly remodelled single story, four-bedroom, two-bath home in Ojai for nearly $2million. Ojai is a haven for artists and people who love the outdoors with its numerous biking, hiking, and horse trails. But their home in the village-like city isn't the only residence of Linda's, since the retired actress appears to have spent her one-off payment of $6.25 million in her divorce settlement on becoming a property tycoon. The brunette has bought three Venice Beachfront properties, which is dubbed Silicon Beach for the tech-CEOs it attracts. She's even earned the title of the Queen of Silicon Beach after having sold one home for $1.9 million in order to buy a $2 million home that she's now renting out. A neighbour told Daily Mail Australia in 2017: 'She has been really smart and made millions. She got a settlement from Paul of course and she's used it well. 'She's definitely her own woman now. Property prices have rocketed in Venice and she's rode the crest of a wave, no doubt about it.'
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Transport Minister defends Sydney Harbour Bridge toll rise as a local councillor labelled the increase as 'theft'
A councillor has slammed the NSW government's announcement that it will be increase tolls on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. From July 1, motorists will see fees rise by 3.2 per cent, paying $4.41 for southbound trips at peak times - an increase of 14 cents. Those paying the off-peak day rate will see the toll go up by 10 cents to $3.30. Drivers crossing during the evenings will pay $2.76, or an increase of nine cents. Mosman councillor Roy Bendall told The Sydney Morning Herald the toll increase was 'theft' from his constituents on Sydney's lower north shore. 'We are being billed for our suffering,' he said, referencing disruptions caused by upgrades to Western Harbour Tunnel and Warringah Freeway. 'We paid off the Harbour Bridge in the '80s – this is insane and it's inequitable.' Sydneysiders took to social media to unleash on the decision to raise the toll, echoing Mr Bendall's sentiment. 'They didn't pay for the Harbour Bridge for 50 years! Why should we pay for their tolls? That is robbery,' one person said. Another said: 'The toll increase that saves you money. Right. Like the cheapest power that costs more.' NSW Transport Minister John Graham said on Saturday the rise of toll fees was to help fund the state government's weekly toll cap. Introduced in January 2024, drivers who spend more than $60 in tolls per week can claim the excess back under the so-called 'toll cap' to help residents in western Sydney. 'That toll relief (is) making a big difference to people's pockets, but we need to fund it, and this money will go straight into that,' he said. 'Drivers from the west are often sitting in traffic, their tolls are going up. 'Similarly, drivers coming across other crossings will have similar arrangements. This is one approach across the city for everyone. 'Tolls are continuing to increase under the contracts the former government signed in the west. We are just making sure that everyone's paying their share.' Mr Bendall said it subsidised a toll cap which is mostly used in western Sydney. Tolls on the bridge were last raised in 2023 by 6.8 per cent, which was the first time in 14 years.
