The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) is implementing a compliance plan to reinforce legal requirements regarding the removal of property associated with offshore petroleum activities, under section 572 of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006.
Section 572 of the Act places duties on titleholders in relation to the maintenance and removal of structures, equipment and property brought onto title.
NOPSEMA outlines that the compliance plan is being implemented to provide greater clarity of removal of property requirements.
Compliance actions will include the issuance of Directions to some titleholders specific to decommissioning and end of life requirements, providing certainty to industry regarding their regulatory obligations.
The triggers for issuing Directions include, but aren’t limited to, a pending sale, the time a facility has been in a non-production state, and/or an apparent lack of planning for decommissioning.
Due to the nature of Directions issued in connection with the section 572 compliance plan, they may be in force for an extended period, until NOPSEMA is satisfied that requirements of the direction are met (which may include the facility being decommissioned and the property removed).
Issuing Directions provides the Commonwealth with certain legal protections, with non-compliance amounting to a serious offence under the Act.
The commencement of the compliance plan follows NOPSEMA engaging in public consultation over its Section 572 Maintenance and removal of property regulatory policy, and its subsequent adoption.
This compliance plan has been developed in accordance with the wider expectations of government, set out in the Ministerial Statement of Expectations for NOPSEMA.
NOPSEMA recognises the value of the findings and recommendations of the recent Walker Review and notes that this plan is part of a broader application of them.
Maintenance and removal of property requirements were highlighted in a special edition of NOPSEMA’s quarterly magazine, The Regulator, issued earlier this month. The special edition of the magazine can be found here.
