Australia stands to gain from an estimated $60 billion wave of offshore oil and gas decommissioning activity over the coming decades. However, a new report from the Curtin Institute for Energy Transition (CIET) warns the country could forfeit the bulk of that economic opportunity to overseas competitors without swift and coordinated action.
The report, From Risk to Reward, was produced following a multi-stakeholder workshop convened by CIET and sets out a series of priority actions Australia must take to build a viable domestic decommissioning industry.
It comes as the federal government has already acknowledged the scale of the challenge, having launched its own Offshore Resources Decommissioning Roadmap and pledging more than $30 million to establish a dedicated decommissioning directorate to coordinate industry activity.
Decommissioning is the final stage in the offshore energy production lifecycle.
As offshore facilities reach the end of their productive lives, the leftover infrastructure must be stripped apart and removed, with the volume of future activity expected to increase significantly over the next 30 years.
Across Australia, an estimated 5.7 million tonnes of steel, concrete and other materials will need to be removed from around 60 to 100 ageing rigs, mainly in the Bass Strait and off the coast of Western Australia.
The CIET report identifies five key priorities for Australia to capture the economic benefits domestically: confirming the location of a deepwater decommissioning port; investing in local recycling and processing infrastructure; improving transparency and planning certainty across the industry; building workforce skills and capability early; and strengthening collaboration between industry, government and communities.
Australia and the United Kingdom have already inked a partnership agreement to advance offshore decommissioning expertise and capabilities in both countries, signalling growing international interest in the sector.
The first area to be cleared of rigs is in Bass Strait, off the coast of Victoria, where Esso, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, plans to dismantle at least 12 platforms by 2027.
Co-author and CIET Director Professor Peta Ashworth said the central question is not whether decommissioning will happen, but who will profit from it.
“Decommissioning is already underway and it will continue for decades – the question is whether Australia is ready to benefit from that opportunity,” said Ashworth.
“There is a real risk that much of this work will be done overseas unless we have clear, prompt decisions on infrastructure such as ports, stronger coordination across industry and government, targeted upskilling and training and more.
“The opportunity is there, but it is time-sensitive and requires action now.”
A 2025 government-commissioned analysis revised the projected cost of full removal of facilities in Commonwealth waters to $43.6 billion in today’s terms, or $66.8 billion inflation-adjusted through to 2070, covering more than 700 wells, 7,600 kilometres of pipelines, and 520 subsea structures.
The report notes that ports, vessels and recycling infrastructure will all require significant investment to support that activity.
The federal government’s own roadmap for the sector sets out a path to maximise the amount of decommissioning activity that happens domestically, grow Australia’s industrial capability, and create safe, high-quality jobs across the supply chain.
The CIET report’s findings underline that ambition remains at risk without faster action on the ground-level decisions that will determine where the work is ultimately done.
