Santos WA Northwest Pty Ltd has been fined $10,000 plus $9,700 in costs after pleading guilty to charges related to a condensate spill at the Varanus Island Marine Terminal off the northwest coast of Western Australia.
The company admitted to failing to operate its licensed pipeline properly and prevent the escape of petroleum, violating the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1982.
The incident occurred on March 20, 2022, when approximately 25,000 litres of condensate leaked from a ruptured flexible pipeline used to transfer petroleum condensate to offshore shipping tankers.
The spill was discovered shortly after dawn, prompting an immediate halt to loading operations.
Investigations revealed that the rupture was caused by repeated overbending and kinking of the flexible loading line, which gradually compromised its structural integrity.
The pipeline, stored on the seabed at depths of 20-25 metres, was connected to surface buoys for retrieval by support vessels.
Santos‘ failures as the pipeline licensee included:
- Insufficient monitoring of condensate loading operations
- Failure to conduct an adequate investigation of the pipeline’s fitness for purpose before its use in 2022
- Inadequate training of support vessel crews on the company’s written procedures for loading offtake tankers
Following the spill, the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) required Santos to strengthen its operational controls by amending the company’s environmental plan to reduce the risk of future incidents.
Tyler Sujdovic, Executive Director of Resource and Environmental Compliance at DEMIRS, emphasised the importance of operating subsea pipelines in a “proper and workmanlike manner” as a fundamental principle in the oil and gas industry.
He stated: “Companies must ensure all workers, including contractors, have the required training and access to up-to-date written procedures to manage petroleum effectively when performing their assigned tasks.”
In response to the incident, Santos has reviewed its practices and implemented measures to prevent the kinking of flexible loading lines and improve subsea monitoring of the line’s position.
The case underscores the critical importance of rigorous safety protocols and proper training in the petroleum industry to prevent environmental incidents and ensure regulatory compliance.
