A New Policy Direction in Australian Offshore Safety Regulation

A New Policy Direction in Australian Offshore Safety Regulation 

The continental shelf off the north-west coast of Australia holds rich reserves of oil and gas, with hydrocarbon exploration and production activities in the area stretching back over deeades. On 21 August 2009, those in charge of drilling the Montara Hi oil and gas well in this area lost control of the well, resulting in uncontrolled flow of hydrocarbons to the environment. This type of event is known in the oil industry as a blowout. The incident has been the subject of a statutory inquiry (Borthwick 2010). 

Whilst the environmental impact of the Montara blowout is limited compared to the Deepwater 

Secondary barriers that should have been in place (according to the final well design) were two pressure containing corrosion caps (PCCCs). The well design 

Horizon incident, there have been impacts felt in West Timor, and the Commission of Inquiry has highlighted that the lack of baseline data and the slow response in putting a monitoring plan in place mean that the full extent of the impact of the Montara spill will never be known. 

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