The Federal Government has stepped in to ensure the abandoned Cliff Head platform off the West Australia coast remains in a safe condition, following the entry of its owners into administration in July.
Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King authorised taxpayer funding to maintain the rig, with her office giving assurances that all costs to government would be recovered from the industry.
Triangle Energy entered administration faced with estimated decommissioning liabilities for the Cliff Head oilfield and associated infrastructure of $200mn after its partner, Pilot Energy entered administration having failed to secure funding to buy out Triangle’s stake in the joint venture.
The case has echoes of the Northern Endeavour scenario, when in 2020 the government took over responsibility for decommissioning and remediating the Northern Endeavour FPSO and its associated infrastructure, after its owner went into liquidation. Six years later, the work is still ongoing. Since then, various reforms have been implemented to ensure operators carry out their decommissioning obligations and prevent a similar event occurring again. The Federal Government also imposed a levy on the Australian petroleum industry to cover the Northern Endeavour decommissioning costs.
Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) Executive Director Matt Roberts said taxpayer funded maintenance of the Cliff Head Oil platform would have been avoided by stronger oil and gas decommissioning laws.
“The Federal Government should not be using Australian taxpayer money to maintain the fossil fuel industry’s abandoned infrastructure.
“What we need now is a clear plan and timeline to recover these funds from industry and meaningful, legislated changes to avoid this happening again in the future.”
Noting that the Federal Government is planning reforms to decommissioning legislation he added, “With $60 billion in decommissioning liabilities sitting offshore across Australia to be worked through in the decades ahead, we must get these reforms right.”
Law firm Clyde & Co, in an article on its website comments, “It appears that Triangle's collapse, and the current uncertainty surrounding responsibility for the Cliff Head decommissioning, is a consequence of matters which occurred under the pre-reform regulatory regime rather than a failure of the current regulatory regime.
“Triangle and Pilot’s acquisition of the Cliff Head oil field and its associated infrastructure occurred before the Walker Review reforms and in circumstances where the pre-reform regulatory regime did not provide for adequate regulatory oversight. It remains to be seen whether any other late-life offshore assets acquired by smaller operators under the pre-reform regime will emerge with solvency concerns as production ceases and decommissioning liabilities crystallise.
“It may be that the original developers of Cliff Head avoid decommissioning liability in this instance due to limitations on the retrospective effect of the trailing liability reforms.”
Clyde & Co added that the expanded trailing liability regime means that the regulator may also look to related persons where appropriate with respect to decommissioning, as well as the two companies concerned.
“Triangle and Pilot’s collapse may cause regulators, financiers and project proponents to scrutinise more closely whether adequate security or funding arrangements are in place to meet both operational and eventual decommissioning liabilities for late-life offshore assets,” Clyde & Co concluded.
Australia’s Department of Industry, Science and Resources has reported back on common issues and concerns regarding the decommissioning process, following an industry and stakeholder consultation process as part of its reforms overhaul.
It comes as Australia seeks to tighten financial and regulatory safeguards around offshore oil and gas decommissioning, amid concerns that companies could leave taxpayers exposed to costly clean-up liabilities.
The Department said it was running its targeted consultation on the practical workings of proposed regulatory design amid updates to offshore decommissioning and financial assurance reforms.
Common themes to emerge from stakeholders included the need for:
• Earlier and regularly updated decommissioning planning
• Robust and credible decommissioning cost estimates
• Greater public transparency of decommissioning information
• Stronger financial assurance requirements
• Clear and effective enforcement options capable of intervening where required
• Clear regulatory triggers and expectations
The consultation process focused on a range of issues including decommissioning planning; financial planning and assurance; decommissioning and financial capacity risk assessments;
compliance and enforcement tools; and title surrender.
The Department said that it received 38 submissions and published 30 responses, while issues identified have “directly shaped” the proposed model, including its emphasis on:
• Staged planning
• Greater transparency
• Effective compliance and enforcement tools
• A proportionate, risk-based regulatory approach
“We are now conducting roundtables and meetings with stakeholders to test the regulatory design for the reforms,” the Department noted.
“The focus of this consultation is on technical and implementation issues. This includes how the model would operate in practice across different project types and life cycle stages.”
It said this targeted feedback would help reduce the risks of “unintended consequences” and ensure a robust, proportionate and balanced regulatory regime.
“Our reforms seek to ensure industry decommissions offshore infrastructure in a timely, safe and environmentally responsible way. This includes remaining responsible for the risks and liabilities of offshore activities,” the Department said in a statement.
There is expected to be a further consultation on the legislative changes in 2027.
Engineers Australia, the country’s national body for engineering, is organising a site visit to an Oceaneering subsea engineering facility that will explore asset integrity management and other key industry issues.
Operating from its Jandakot facility in Western Australia, Oceaneering develops and delivers innovative technologies that support the inspection, maintenance, repair and integrity management of critical subsea infrastructure for the offshore energy industry.
“Explore the future of subsea engineering and offshore technology with Oceaneering,” an Engineers Australia statement noted.
The visit is scheduled to take place on 23 September 2026.
The statement highlighted the “exclusive industrial visit” to Oceaneering Australia, “a global leader in subsea engineering, remotely operated vehicle (ROV) technology, asset integrity management and offshore engineering solutions.”
Hosted by the Engineers Australia Mechanical College, the visit will offer a glimpse into the engineering challenges associated with operating and maintaining subsea assets in some of the world's most demanding environments.
The statement added that participants will develop an understanding of the complexity of subsea pipeline inspection and repair activities, including the influence of deepwater conditions, corrosion, accessibility, operational risks and stringent safety requirements.
“The visit will also provide valuable exposure to the role of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and other advanced submersible technologies used for subsea inspection, intervention, and repair, highlighting how these systems enable engineers to safely perform complex offshore operations that would otherwise be impossible for human divers.”
Software company Aize has acquired Samp, a French industrial AI company, in a move to unite their respective technologies, teams and visions to create a comprehensive approach to industrial asset information.
The combination will address industrial assets across their full lifecycle, from greenfield facilities to decades-old brownfield assets.
Samp has developed Shared Reality, an AI-powered platform that transforms reality-capture data, such as laser scans, into structured asset information and connects the physical identity of the field with engineering information such as tags, drawings and P&IDs.
Samp’s technology is already being used across more than 500 industrial facilities, with a strong focus on energy and water. Aize is used by leading companies across the energy sector, including bp, ExxonMobil, SBM Offshore, Aker BP, and Aker Solutions, to bring engineering, operational and asset information together in one digital environment.
Jarle Skrebergene, CEO of Aize, said, “What convinced us about Samp was not only the technology, but the team, their commercial momentum and how closely their vision aligns with ours. Together, we can connect engineering intent, operational information and what actually exists in the field, creating a uniquely powerful foundation for industrial companies to understand and work their assets throughout their lifecycle.”
CEO and Co-Founder of Samp, Laurent Bourgouin, commented, “Samp was founded around a simple conviction: for existing industrial facilities, the field is the ultimate source of truth. Shared Reality bridges the gap between physical reality and the technical information companies rely on every day. Together with Aize, we can connect engineering, operations and field reality across the entire asset lifecycle.”
The International Well Control Forum (IWCF) has endorsed an Introduction to Well Decommissioning online module from the Centre of Decommissioning Australia (CODA).
The Quality Assured endorsement follows an independent review under the IWCF Quality Assured framework.
The Introduction to Well Decommissioning module forms part of CODA Academy, CODA’s initiative focused on building knowledge and capability across the decommissioning industry.
The online module, launched earlier this year, was developed to provide an accessible introduction to well decommissioning for professionals who may be new to the discipline, as well as those looking to broaden their understanding of the well decommissioning lifecycle.
The IWCF review assessed the module against applicable Quality Assured standards.
The technical review also found the module suitable in complexity and presentation for its intended introductory audience, highlighting its logical structure, use of varied digital learning elements and learner-focused design.
It also recognised the quality assurance processes established by CODA, including subject matter expert verification, independent technical review, pilot testing, governance sign-off, learner feedback, annual review and version control.
CODA’s CEO Francis Norman said the endorsement reflected the collaborative effort behind the module’s development.
“A course like this relies on the knowledge and experience of the people involved in developing it,” he said.
Course content was developed in collaboration with Chris Wilson of Labrador, a subject matter expert who also delivers the material as part of CODA’s in-person Introduction to Well Decommissioning course, while Perth-based organisations Sentient and Of Note Designs supported the development of the eLearning platform and web environment respectively.
“The CODA team, Chris, Sentient and Of Note Designs each brought their own expertise to the project, and that collaboration has been a big part of getting the course to where it is today,” added Norman.
“Having that work independently reviewed and receiving IWCF Quality Assured endorsement is a great outcome for everyone involved.”
The inaugural Offshore Network D&A 2026 Awards, in partnership with CODA, will shine the spotlight on the projects, technologies and individuals helping to shape the future of decommissioning across Australia and the wider region.
With decommissioning activity continuing to develop across the region, the awards provide an opportunity to recognise the people and organisations finding new ways to improve efficiency, safety, sustainability and value throughout the lifecycle of offshore assets.
The award categories for 2026 include:
A judging panel full of industry leaders will decide who will where the crowns at this year’s ceremony, which will take place at the Crown Perth, 6100 Australia, on November 12th, 2026.
Guests will be treated to an evening of networking, entertainment, a three course meal, and the chance to raise a glass with the best in the industry.
Tickets to attend are available on the website.
Wood, the engineering and consulting firm acquired by Sidara in March 2026, has outlined its role in maintenance and shutdown support in Australia’s Gippsland Basin, a region that supplies a large chunk of the country’s south-eastern gas demand.
For more than a year, it has provided services across the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture’s (JV) offshore assets in the Bass Strait and the Longford and Long Island Point facilities.
On July 1st, 2026, Woodside assumed operatorship of the Gippsland Basin assets from Esso Australia — Wood’s contract was first announced in January 2025.
In a recent article posted to its website — but drafted prior to completion of the Woodside operatorship — the consulting firm highlighted how a “strong alliance model” with Esso Australia was ensuring “reliable, value-driven maintenance across critical late-life assets.
”Every day in the Gippsland Basin, hundreds of Wood’s people – technicians, operators, planners, engineers and support staff — play a quiet but critical role in keeping Australia’s energy supply secure, it noted.
“The success of the Gippsland contract is grounded in an alliance model that brings Wood and the Gippsland Basin JV together as one team.”
Since 2020, it has also upgraded and modified key infrastructure through a diverse portfolio of onshore and offshore minor modification and major enhancement work.
Asset integrity management
Over 330 of Wood’s people — around 230 blue-collar and 100 white-collar — have become the engine room of safe and reliable operations, supporting the broader Esso Australia team across Gippsland’s mature assets.Focused on optimising operational performance, local personnel are responsible for planning and executing maintenance programmes with continuous improvement, the Wood article noted.
“Enhancing reliability, production and uptime are core drivers that guide our teams every day — and they work hard to do that while continually reducing risk, learning from experience and supporting Esso Australia’s expectations.
“From day one in January 2025, we ensured a seamless transition into the contract, completing all planned shutdowns safely and continuing to deliver value without operational disruption.”
Smarter maintenance strategies
With decades of production and thousands of hours of ongoing maintenance behind it, Gippsland is a basin with history.
According to Wood, a challenging mindset is needed to uncover optimal maintenance strategies that deliver reliability, and at pace.
“Our teams focus on compliance, prioritisation of critical maintenance and elimination of unnecessary work to strengthen operational performance, without compromising on safety,” the article added.
“Every improvement is driven by the people closest to the job — those identifying smarter ways to work, tightening processes and making sure that what gets done is what truly matters.
"By embracing rope access techniques to replace scaffold-heavy tasks, exploring drones for quick, efficient inspection and continuously challenging the status quo, we’re focused on finding better, safer, more efficient pathways forward."
As the JV’s assets move closer to eventual decommissioning, Wood concluded that its focus is to keep supporting the Gippsland assets with optimised, late-life maintenance that enhances production.
Decommissioning responsibilities and liabilities in the offshore sector are increasingly shaping joint venture arrangements (JV) and M&A transactions within the industry.
Allens, a leading international law firm which offers clients a network of 40 offices in 25 countries through a global alliance with Linklaters, published an insight paper on 1 September highlighting how deals are being affected.
As Australia’s offshore oil and gas sector enters a period of increasing asset maturity, it notes, decommissioning is rapidly becoming one of the industry's most significant commercial, regulatory and financial challenges.
“The focus is no longer limited to the technical execution of decommissioning activities,” the law firm states, “participants must also address complex issues around the allocation of decommissioning liabilities in joint ventures and M&A transactions, evolving environmental planning and approvals requirements and the tax treatment of decommissioning expenditure.”
In a multi-part series, the law firm intends to explore each of these areas and examine the legal and regulatory frameworks that are shaping decommissioning outcomes across Australia’s offshore oil and gas sector.
In the first Insight, it provides an overview of the decommissioning regime under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (Cth) (OPGGSA) and examines how it is influencing JV arrangements and M&A transactions in the offshore oil and gas sector.
Key takeaways
• Australia’s offshore decommissioning regime under the OPGGSA imposes ongoing obligations on titleholders to decommission offshore infrastructure and remove property that is no longer required for authorised activities. Those obligations must, generally, be satisfied before a title can be surrendered.
• The OPGGSA is supported by significant enforcement powers, including civil and criminal penalties and the trailing liability regime, under which former titleholders and related entities may remain exposed to decommissioning liability after disposing of their interest in offshore petroleum assets.
• The trailing liability regime has important implications for joint ventures. Participants should consider whether their JOAs adequately address decommissioning cost allocation, governance, funding, default risk and potential residual exposure under the trailing liability regime.
• Decommissioning is now a central issue in offshore petroleum M&A transactions. Buyers and sellers should consider decommissioning exposure as part of due diligence, transaction structuring, contractual protections, security arrangements and the allocation of responsibility for existing and future regulatory obligations.
• While parties can allocate decommissioning risk contractually, a complete ‘clean break’ is no longer possible from statutory liability. This has increased the importance of indemnities, security arrangements, funding mechanisms and enhanced disclosure in transaction documentation.
Looking ahead
According to Allens, as Australia's offshore petroleum sector enters a period of increasing decommissioning activity, participants can expect continued policy, regulatory and commercial focus on the allocation and management of decommissioning liabilities.
“In that environment, decommissioning considerations are likely to become an increasingly prominent feature of joint venture negotiations, asset acquisitions and divestments and broader portfolio management decisions across the sector,” it notes.
“Participants should ensure they have a clear understanding of how decommissioning obligations and liabilities are addressed in both joint venture arrangements and M&A transactions, including the allocation of responsibility and cost between parties, the treatment of contingent and future liabilities, and the potential for residual exposure to persist notwithstanding asset divestments, title surrender or the completion of decommissioning activities.”
Offshore energy infrastructure across Australian waters is hurtling towards an unprecedented environmental and financial reckoning, yet regulatory safety nets appear ill-equipped to handle the fallout.
In a landmark ruling, the Federal Court has determined that fossil fuel giant Santos is not legally required to prove its financial capacity to clean up its ageing Reindeer gas infrastructure off Western Australia's Pilbara coast. The outcome of the legal challenge, brought against the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) and Santos by the Wilderness Society, has sparked fierce condemnation from conservationists and exposed severe regulatory gaps in national decommissioning frameworks.
Broken regulations and corporate liability
The Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) has labelled the court's decision a failure of process that leaves coastal ecosystems and public finances in acute jeopardy. Assessing the ruling, CCWA Executive Director Matt Roberts described the outcome as "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."
Without statutory requirements demanding upfront financial guarantees before production concludes, operators can sidestep the monumental expenses of marine remediation.
“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," Mr Roberts stated.
A legacy of stranded maritime assets
The Reindeer verdict is not an isolated breakdown; it reflects a persistent pattern of abandoned liabilities across Australian waters, where corporate insolvency has repeatedly threatened public funds.
“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," Mr Roberts noted.
Highlighting earlier precedents, he added: “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," he warned.
The scope of decommissioning by 2030
The volume of obsolete fossil fuel assets in Australian waters presents a critical logistical and ecological challenge as offshore infrastructure reaches operational retirement.
Mr Roberts pointed to official projections detailing the sheer magnitude of the work ahead:
"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."
Urgent calls for legislative reform
To prevent the financial burden from shifting onto the public, environmental organisations are demanding comprehensive statutory overhauls and dedicated funding pools.
“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," Mr Roberts urged. "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."
Leaving these obligations unaddressed carries severe ecological dangers. As Mr Roberts stressed, “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," he concluded. “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.”
Zenith Energy Australia Pty Ltd has been selected to lead phase two of the Northern Endeavour decommissioning programme, Australia’s Department of Industry, Science and Resources confirmed in an 18th August, 2026 update.
“We have engaged Zenith to conduct planning, engineering and regulatory activities to plug and abandon the Laminaria and Corallina wells,” it noted.
Zenith is an independent well engineering and project management firm which has delivered offshore projects in the North West Shelf, Timor Sea, Perth Basin, Otway Basin and Bass Strait.
Phase two of the Northern Endeavour decommissioning focuses on six wells in the Laminaria field and two oil wells and one gas injection well at Corallina.
The Department said the programme would be conducted in two stages, to “help us complete works safely, efficiently and in compliance with regulatory requirements and industry best practice.”
Stage 1 will involve working with Zenith on:
• detailed project planning
• understanding and designing the engineering needs
• gaining regulatory approvals.The outcome of stage one will then determine whether to proceed with stage two, the Department said.
Stage 2 would involve plugging and abandoning the nine wells in line with regulatory approvals, including:
• installing permanent cement barriers at different depths in the wells
• pressure testing the barriers to make sure no fluid can flow to the surface
• removing well infrastructure above the seabed.
Separately, the Department also reported that Xodus Group would provide environmental services for phases two and three of the Northern Endeavour decommissioning programme.
It builds on the company’s experience providing technical assurance and advisory support during phase one work.
The company had confirmed its role in an earlier statement released on 3rd August.
The Department stated that Xodus Group will support environmental approvals for the next phases of the programme by providing technical assurance and advisory services; assisting to gain approvals under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999; developing regulatory approval documents and plans; supporting engagement with regulators; and providing implementation advice.
Xodus has partnered with Elemental Consulting Services who supported environmental approvals during phase one of the programme, the statement added.
Origin Energy has signed a multi-year deal that will see Pointerra’s cloud-based digital twin technology used to monitor approximately 750 km of gas transmission pipeline in Queensland — demonstrating how remote sensing and automated analytics can reshape the management of linear infrastructure.
The project was outlined in a blog written by Matthew James, VP of Business Development - Resources at Pointerra, and posted recently to the company’s website.
Pipeline operators have long faced a fundamental challenge: how to efficiently monitor hundreds or thousands of kilometres of geographically dispersed assets while maintaining visibility of changing conditions along the corridor, James noted in the blog.
“Reality capture technologies such as drones and LiDAR are making it possible to capture those environments in increasing detail. But capturing the data is only part of the equation. Turning large, repeated surveys into timely and consistent information that asset managers and engineers can use is where the operational value lies,” he said.
“That is the challenge Pointerra is addressing with its cloud-native digital twin platform, Pointerra3D.”
Pointerra commenced its multi-year programme with Origin Energy in July, which will deploy Pointerra3D as an enterprise pipeline monitoring and analytics solution across approximately 750km of Origin's gas transmission pipeline network.
The agreement followed a paid Proof of Concept that demonstrated how drone-acquired LiDAR and imagery could be processed and analysed through Pointerra3D to automate pipeline inspection workflows traditionally reliant on manual review and field-based processes.
Under the programme, Origin's pipeline network will be surveyed quarterly by drone, with Pointerra3D providing the digital environment connecting capture partners with Origin's asset managers and engineers, according to James.
Rather than treating each survey as an isolated dataset, the platform enables successive captures to form part of an evolving digital twin of the pipeline corridor.
This allows teams to identify and quantify changes between surveys and focus attention on areas requiring further investigation.
“Pointerra3D's Pipeline Monitoring Analytics Package provides automated data ingestion and QA/QC alongside analytics including terrain, vegetation and surface change detection; third-party interference detection; erosion volume quantification; depth of cover analysis; vegetation segmentation; encroachment analysis; and automated generation of points of interest,” said James.
“Analytics are targeted for delivery within 24 hours of receipt and validation of drone survey data, giving teams access to actionable information through a secure browser-based environment.”
This approach changes the role of reality capture from simply providing a record of asset condition to supporting repeatable monitoring and decision-making, he added.
“For owners of long linear assets, that distinction is significant. A pipeline corridor can extend across hundreds of kilometres of changing terrain, vegetation and land use. Manually reviewing large volumes of imagery and point cloud data is difficult to scale, particularly when surveys are repeated regularly.
“Automating that analysis allows asset teams to concentrate on identified changes, threats and exceptions rather than manually searching datasets for them.”
For Pointerra CEO and Co-Founder Ian Olson, the move from Proof of Concept into business-as-usual operations is an important demonstration of how automated spatial analytics can be applied to critical infrastructure.
“The Origin Energy contract is a significant milestone for the Company,” said Olson.
“It demonstrates the power of our disciplined PoC-to-BAU engagement model and validates the market demand for automated, cloud-native infrastructure asset monitoring solutions that reduce field exposure, improve compliance outcomes, and deliver actionable insights at scale.”
Australia's offshore oil and gas infrastructure is ageing, with many assets approaching or exceeding their original design life, creating significant asset integrity management (AIM) challenges. Operators must address corrosion, fatigue, structural degradation and evolving production conditions while maintaining safety, environmental protection and regulatory compliance. At the same time, they must sustain output and keep projects viable.
Offshore Network has issued a new report addressing how operators can respond to this unique and increasingly complex set of challenges The report looks at:
To download the report, go to https://offsnet.com/reports
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