Two separate environmental incidents linked to ageing offshore assets off Western Australia (WA) could trigger further scrutiny into the industry’s decommissioning actions.
It follows revelations by independent news outlet, Boiling Cold, that Chevron had detected gas leaking at a recently-closed site on Barrow Island, which is now set for decommissioning, an article that was subsequently picked up by ABC News.
The US-based oil and gas giant ended production at the site, which sits 50 km north west of Karratha off the Pilbara coast, in mid-May.
A Chevron spokesperson later confirmed the leak to Boiling Cold.
“As part of detailed planning for the decommissioning of WA oil infrastructure, data analysis has indicated an environmental risk from the subsurface migration of hydrocarbons, primarily gas, to groundwater and the surface,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by the independent news outlet, and later by ABC.
“We have informed relevant regulatory agencies, and we will work with them to develop a comprehensive investigation programme.”
The Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration is still investigating the leak, the ABC report added.
The incident follows a separate oil spill in May from facilities at Woodside’s Griffin field, about 58 km north-west of Exmouth, which is also set for decommissioning.
The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) is still investigating the spill.
The ABC report also cited Denise Fitch, chairperson of the environmental non-profit Cape Conservation Group based in Exmouth, questioning the industry’s commitment to the decommissioning process.
“There's no trust in their being capable of preventing oil spills,” she was quoted as saying by ABC.
“There have been, even in the last 12 to 18 months, a number of incidents where there have been spills and where decommissioning has caused issues or hasn't been done properly.”
