Australia’s oil and gas sector has celebrated its most innovative and safety-conscious projects at the 2026 Australian Energy Producers Excellence Awards, with four companies recognised for outstanding contributions across the industry.
The awards were presented on Wednesday evening as part of the annual Australian Energy Producers Conference and Exhibition in Adelaide, honouring achievements in community engagement, environmental stewardship, innovation and technology, and workplace safety and wellbeing.
Australian Energy Producers Chief Executive Samantha McCulloch said the standard of entries this year reflected an industry undergoing meaningful transformation.
“These outstanding projects highlight some of the extraordinary work being undertaken across our industry to support communities, strengthen environmental outcomes, improve safety performance and drive innovation.
“The calibre of this year’s finalists and winners reflects an industry committed to continuous improvement and delivering lasting benefits for the Australian community.”
ConocoPhillips Australia took out the Community and Social Investment Award for its Buraligim Weiber, meaning ‘A Place of Learning’, STEM program in Gladstone, Queensland.
The initiative was co-designed with CQUniversity, local schools, community groups and Traditional Owners, embedding cultural learning alongside hands-on literacy, numeracy and science experiences for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
The Environmental Stewardship Award went to Santos for its Moomba carbon capture and storage project, which is Australia’s first large-scale onshore CCS operation.
The project stored more than 1.2 million tonnes of CO₂e in 2025 alone, marking a significant milestone in the country’s push toward lower-emissions energy technologies.
ExxonMobil Australia was recognised with the Innovation and Technology Award for Esso Australia’s Bass Strait Well Abandonment Campaign, which stands as the largest offshore well abandonment effort undertaken in Australia to date.
The campaign decommissioned 211 wells between 2019 and 2025, driven by continuous operational refinement and collaboration across the industry.
INPEX claimed the Safety and Wellbeing Award for its Ichthys LNG Phase 2b booster compressor module lift, hookup and commissioning project.
The project involved the offshore installation of a 4,800-tonne module at the Ichthys LNG central processing facility, completing more than 848,000 offshore work hours without a single lost time injury, loss of containment or production trip.
McCulloch said the collective achievements underscored the sector’s long-term commitment to Australians.
“On behalf of the industry, I congratulate all finalists and award recipients recognised for their outstanding achievements and contribution to Australia’s energy future.”
