Australia’s Department of Industry, Science and Resources has launched a competitive procurement process to find an Australian lead contractor to manage waste materials as part of Phase 3b of the Northern Endeavour decommissioning programme.
What is the Northern Endeavour?
The Northern Endeavour was a 274 m long floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility which has now been disconnected and removed. It was permanently moored between the Laminaria and Corallina oil fields, around 550 km northwest of Darwin in the Timor Sea. Originally developed and operated by a joint venture compromising Woodside, BHP and Shell, it was acquired and operated by Northern Oil & Gas Australia in 2016, which went into liquidation in 2019.
The Australia Federal Government was then forced to step in and take ownership of the FPSO, announcing plans for its decommissioning, disconnection and disposal and the remediation of the Laminaria-Corallina oilfields.
How is the decommissioning being managed?
The decommissioning of the 43,000 tonne FPSO is being managed by the Australian government and carried out in three phases. Phase 1 of the program is operationally complete and recycling of the FPSO is now underway following its safe delivery to the recycling facility in Denmark.
Phase 2 of the programme is in progress. This phase focuses on design and planning to permanently plug and abandon the nine wells in the Laminaria and Corallina oil fields. DISR engaged Zenith Energy Australia Pty as the lead contractor and is now working with them, to plan and design the work to plug and abandon the nine wells.
The third and final phase will focus on removing the remaining subsea infrastructure, recycling and waste management, including over 12,000 tonnes of steel, managing the subsea infrastructure after removal, including decontamination, recycling and disposal, and restoring the marine environment.
In August, DISR released a request for tender for a lead contractor to deliver Phase 3a of the programme, which involves recovery, transport and offloading of subsea infrastructure from the Laminaria and Corallina oil fields to a nominated Australian port. Submissions close 23 October 2026.
Phase 3b of the Northern Endeavour decommissioning program involves managing, recycling and disposing of materials from the Laminaria and Corallina oil fields.
DISR has used the Defence Scrapping and Disposal of Defence Material Panel to request quotes from potential lead contractors to deliver this work. The panel includes pre-qualified Australian companies who joined through an open tender process and have expertise in scrapping and disposing of government assets.
DISR claims that using the panel for this procurement will support the domestic decommissioning industry and jobs by:
- engaging Australian-owned and Australian-based companies
- encouraging investment in local facilities and infrastructure, building workforce skills and strengthening supply chains for waste treatment, recycling and disposal
- creating subcontracting opportunities across logistics, transport, environmental management, waste treatment and specialist industrial services.
It will also help ensure an efficient process and value for money.
The decommissioning of the Northern Endeavour is funded by The Offshore Petroleum Laminaria and Corallina Decommissioning Cost Recovery Levy (OP Levy), which is being charged from June 2021 to June 2029 on oil and gas producers. Decommissioning activity in Australia is being spurred by increasingly stringent regulatory pressures and requirements in a bid to avoid any repetition of the Northern Endeavour debacle.
