Latest news with #NOPSEMA
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
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.'
ABC News
6 days ago
- General
- ABC News
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.
Perth Now
22-04-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Santos gets final tick for flagship Barossa gas project
After years of delays and fervent opposition from environment groups, Santos has cleared the final hurdle for its multibillion-dollar Barossa gas project. First gas on the $5.8 billion mega-project, about 285km north-northwest off the coast of Darwin, is expected in coming months after offshore oil and gas regulator NOPSEMA gave the project its final regulatory approval on Tuesday. The Adelaide-based company will now be able to hook up a floating production storage and offloading vessel, allowing gas to be transported from the project's six wells to processing facilities. Pipeline work on the controversial project was halted in late 2022 after a court challenge from three Tiwi Island elders. Santos eventually won the Federal Court battle in January 2024. The Environmental Defenders Office - which represented the Tiwi Islanders - was slammed by the judge for confecting evidence in the case and ordered to pay Santos more than $9 million in legal costs. But the delay of about three months meant the project would incur an extra $US200-300 million ($A311-$467 million) in capital expenditure costs, Santos revealed. The approval was met with condemnation by environmental groups. With production capacity of 3.7 million tonnes of LNG per year, critics say Barossa contains a higher proportion of CO2 than any other gas field in Australia. The Australian Conservation Foundation said the project's environmental plan failed to properly assess greenhouse gas emissions from the "massive climate bomb". The Environment Centre NT said the approval was a failure of the Albanese government's safeguard mechanism, which requires major emitters to reduce greenhouse gases in line with Australia's climate targets. Mark Ogge, principal advisor at the Australia Institute, called on Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to strengthen the coalition's gas reservation policy to prevent the need for new projects in the Northern Territory. "If a small amount of Barossa's gas was reserved for use in Australia, there would be absolutely no need to frack for gas in the Northern Territory," he said. In a market update in February, Santos reassured investors that the project was 91 per cent complete and on track for first gas in the third quarter of 2025. Santos said that final welds on a pipeline connecting the Barossa field to the Darwin LNG plant were under way and three wells were drilled and completed. A fourth was partially drilled and suspended for later completion, with work on a fifth well under way. Santos shares finished 0.7 per cent lower at $5.61 on Tuesday. Santos was approached for comment.
