The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) is calling for a major “shakeup” of government policy and regulation of the dismantling, processing, recycling and disposal of offshore oil and gas infrastructure.
MUA which has launched a report alongside Macquarie University’s Centre for Energy and Natural Resources Innovation and Transformation, is pushing the Australian government to focus on decommissioning and recycling of offshore oil and gas installations.
The report launched today, authored by orofessor Tina Soliman-Hunter, focuses on the dismantling, processing, recycling and disposal of offshore oil and gas infrastructure, which is the necessary next step after structures are removed and come ashore.
The parties noted that they have examined Australia’s international legal obligations and domestic law pertaining to dismantling, processing, recycling and disposal of offshore oil and gas infrastructure, have identified gaps in the existing legal framework, analysed best practice in mature jurisdictions and international legal instruments, and provided a series of high-level recommendations for the development of effective government policy in Australia.
The Maritime Union of Australia stated that the country is on the cusp of a $60 billion opportunity in the task of removing and recycling its retired oil and gas infrastructure.
According to MUA, many oil and gas companies with offshore projects at or near their end of life have spent many years trying to avoid their legal and ethical obligation to safely, cleanly and thoroughly remove their underwater and floating equipment, including well-heads, pipelines and riser turret moorings (RTMs), as the offshore oil and gas installations are often beyond the horizon and therefore invisible to the community.
Adrian Evans, Union’s Assistant National Secretary, said: “Australian maritime workers built and maintained our offshore oil and gas industry throughout the latter decades of the 20th Century, and with our eyes set firmly on the need to decarbonise our economy and diversify our renewable energy supplies the MUA is advocating for a sustainable and clean withdrawal from offshore oil and gas that includes the comprehensive removal and recycling of the massive volume of disused offshore equipment.”
“Every year we catch major oil and gas companies trying to abandon their offshore, underwater and floating infrastructure, often after deliberately ignoring routine maintenance tasks so that it becomes uneconomical or unsafe to properly remove them,” Mr Evans added.
