Author: Nada Pavlak

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

This paper traces the development of the Australian offshore petroleum legislative framework, which is comprised of Commonwealth and State acts, regulations and administrative guidelines. First this paper looks at how the present arrangements have been arrived at, touching on major developments including the Offshore Petroleum Agreement of 1967 and the Offshore Constitutional Settlement of 1979, through to recent reforms to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (Cth) (OPGGS Act), with a focus on the Montara Commission of Inquiry and its Report. This paper also examines the interplay between the States and Commonwealth in implementing the legislative framework, including the mirror legislation arrangements. The paper focuses on the introduction of a new national regulator, to take effect from 1 January 2012. This entity will replace, in part, the Designated Authorities established under the OPGGS Act and will include an expanded role for the existing National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority (NOPSA). Recent reviews of the regulatory framework, and investigations of the 2008 Varanus Island pipeline explosion and the 2009 Montara incident highlighted inadequacies in the Australian offshore petroleum regulatory regime. This paper looks at the findings from those reports and focuses on the recent reforms. At the time of the blowout from the Montara oil field on 21 August 2009, reform was already underway on the Australian offshore petroleum regulatory framework. Changes to the OPGGS Act had been recommended by several reviews. The Montara incident and the Deepwater Horizon blow-out in the Macondo oilfield in the Gulf of Mexico brought the safety and environmental aspects of offshore petroleum regulation into public focus, and provided further impetus for reform.