Australian Government Progress Report on implementation of the
recommendations of the Montara Commission of Inquiry –
September 2012
The Australian Government, through its commitment to apply the lessons from the
Montara and Gulf of Mexico oil spill incidents, has made significant progress in
implementing the accepted recommendations in the Final Government Response to the
Report of the Montara Commission of Inquiry (Final Government Response), which was
released on 23 May 2011.
The June 2010 Report of the Montara Commission of Inquiry (the Report) made 105
recommendations which have implications for governments, Regulators and the
operational procedures and practices of the offshore petroleum industry. In the Final
Government Response, the Government accepted 92 recommendations and noted 10; it
did not accept three Montara Commission of Inquiry (MCI) recommendations because
they were technically inappropriate.
Implementation of the Government’s response has included a suite of initiatives,
including amendments to legislation and improvements to strengthen institutional
arrangements. These include amendment of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas
Storage Act 2006 to establish, on 1 January 2012, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety
and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA), the new national regulator in
Commonwealth waters, in for safety, well integrity, environmental regulation and day-today operations of petroleum activities; and a new national titles administrator, the
National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA).
This report details progress against the Implementation Plan of the Final Government
Response (the Implementation Plan). The Implementation Plan organised the
recommendations under the following key themes:

Regulatory Regime;

Regulator Operating Practices;

Response Arrangements;

Environmental Management;

Review of PTTEP Australasia’s Response to the Montara Blowout; and

Additional Recommendations.
To date, 81 recommendations of the 92 accepted recommendations are complete, and 11
remain in progress (72; 84; 85; 86; 88; 92; 93; 94; 97; 98; 100).
It is anticipated the 11 recommendations will be completed by end 2013, within the
Government’s legislative program; concurrent with the revision of the National Plan to
Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil and Other Noxious and Hazardous Substances and
supporting arrangements; with finalisation of the review of the OPGGS (Environment)
Regulations; and implementation of the Commonwealth ‘s response to the Report of the
independent Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act
1999.
1.
Regulatory Regime
(Recommendations: 2; 23-26; 28; 44; 48; 66; 68; 71-72; 79; 83; 88- 89; 91-92; 95- 97).
a.
Offshore Petroleum and Marine Environment Legislative Review
The Report made 21 recommendations proposing legislative amendments to the
regulatory regime for offshore petroleum and marine environment (Commonwealth
waters). To give effect to these recommendations, the Implementation Plan committed
the Government to undertake by June 2012 a review of Commonwealth legislation
applicable to the offshore petroleum activities and the marine environment.
The Government has concluded the review and will introduce amendments to legislation
during 2012-13 that will strengthen the operating practices of the offshore petroleum
industry and provide additional enforcement powers to Regulators.
The proposed changes to legislation include:

Amend the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (OPGGS
Act) and associated Regulations to include a statutory duty requiring titleholders
to stop, contain control and clean up a hydrocarbon spill; carry out appropriate
monitoring; and remediate the environment, including strengthening and
clarifying the ability for third parties to recover from the titleholder costs incurred
by them if the titleholder breaches the duty. This enhances the existing legislative
application of the ‘polluter pays’ principle (Refer MCI recommendation 95 and
96);

Clarifying as appropriate in the OPGGS Act and associated Regulations directions
giving powers, arrangements for recovery of costs from third parties, insurance,
and requirements for environmental monitoring during and post an offshore
petroleum incident;

The introduction of a civil penalty regime to the OPGGS Act, providing the
National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority
(NOPSEMA) with a broader range of compliance and enforcement tools aimed at
improving compliance outcomes (Refer MCI Recommendation 71). Specifically:
o current criminal penalty levels under the OPGGS Act and associated
Regulations will be increased, consistent with major hazard industry
legislation;
o the OPGGS Act and associated regulations will be amended to introduce a
range of alternative enforcement mechanisms (e.g. options will include
infringement notices, enforceable undertakings, civil penalties, adverse
publicity orders, injunctions, and orders for restoration, broadly consistent
with those provided for in like legislative regimes, as a supplement to
existing criminal penalties);
o penalties, including custodial penalties, for occupational health and safety
offences under the OPGGS Act will be harmonised with the Work Health
and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) (Cth) or made greater, as appropriate, to
reflect the greater consequences in a major hazard industry;
o the OPGGS Act will be amended to allow for cumulative penalties for
appropriate strict liability offences; and
o NOPSEMA’s inspectorate powers will be redrafted to provide greater
clarity and consistency between the various powers of each category of
inspector and remove unnecessary procedural requirements that are likely
to impede NOPSEMA’s ability to effectively perform its enforcement
functions.

Amendments to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act
1999 (EPBC Act) to strengthen the legislative application of the ‘polluter pays
principle’, with a focus on creating offences for causing damage to the
environment in connection with the Commonwealth marine area, and
strengthening remediation determination powers (Refer MCI recommendation 95
and 96).
The Government will also:

Retain the current definition of ‘good oilfield practice’ in the OPGGS Act and by
end 2012, the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, with the National
Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority
(NOPSEMA), will develop and publish supplementary guidance material for
regulators and titleholders on concepts underlying, and practical interpretation, of
‘good oilfield practice’ (Refer MCI recommendations 68);

Address gaps that may arise in responding to offshore petroleum incidents with
cross-jurisdictional impacts using administrative arrangements provided for in the
National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil and Other Noxious and
Hazardous Substances (National Plan) and supporting arrangements, including the
National Maritime Emergency Response Arrangements and inter-governmental
agreements;

By June 2013, undertake an assessment of whether Australia’s international treaty
obligations relating to the marine environment that apply to offshore petroleum
activities are sufficiently provided for in the marine environment and offshore
petroleum legislative regimes; and

Establish an equitable cost sharing arrangement between the offshore petroleum
and shipping industries for mutually required equipment and services for
preparedness costs incurred by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority
(AMSA), as articulated through the National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea
by Oil and Other Noxious and Hazardous Substances (the National Plan),
consistent with the contents of offshore petroleum oil spill contingency plans and
the obligations on titleholders created by the offshore petroleum legislative
framework. The arrangement will be implemented by June 2013 (Refer MCI
recommendation 91).
Concurrently, reviews of the OPGGS (Environment) Regulations, and Part 5 (well
operations) of the OPGGS (Resource Management and Administration) Regulations, are
underway and due to conclude by end 2012. The reviews are examining the fitness of
these Regulations to meet the objectives of the OPGGS Act (Refer MCI
recommendations 23-26, 28, 44, 48, 66, and 97).
In addition, on 24 August 2011, the Australian Government released its response to the
Report of the independent Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act 1999 (the Hawke Review). The Government’s response to the Hawke
Review agreed to streamline the environmental approvals process between the OPGGS
Act and the EPBC Act and noted options would be available under the amended EPBC
Act to accredit the systems and processes administered by NOPSEMA (Refer MCI
recommendations 98 and 100). Discussions are ongoing between NOPSEMA and
SEWPaC to progress this streamlining.
b.
Regulator Prohibition Powers
The Government proposes to introduce the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas
Storage (Compliance Measures) Amendment Bill 2012 during the 2012 Spring sittings of
the Parliament. The Bill will extend the circumstances in which NOPSEMA can issue a
Prohibition Notice to include when an activity may occur at a facility that would involve
an immediate health or safety risk to a person. The passage of this Bill will complete
action against MCI Recommendation 72.
c.
Regulator and Operator Engagement During an Offshore Petroleum
Incident
On 6 March 2012, the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment
(Significant Incident Directions) Act 2012 (No. 2 of 2012) came into force. The Act
amends the OPGGS Act to provide NOPSEMA with the power to issue a direction to a
petroleum titleholder in the event of a significant offshore petroleum incident occurring
within the title area that has caused, or might cause, an escape of petroleum. The direction
would require the titleholder to take an action or not take an action in relation to the
escape or possible escape of petroleum and its effects, and may apply either within or
outside the titleholder’s title area. This Act completes action against MCI
Recommendation 79.
In addition, the Second Triennial Review of the Operational Effectiveness of the National
Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority (NOPSA) Report (the 2011 Operational Review)
was tabled in the Parliament on 8 December 2011. The 2011 Operational Review
determined that NOPSA (now NOPSEMA) has firmly established itself as a respected
and competent regulator and noted its commitment to representative, tripartite and
consultative stakeholder engagement, building on existing work programs and fora. It
also noted that stakeholder engagement is an intrinsic element of an effective regulatory
model, but not at the expense of regulatory independence. The Government’s response to
the 2011 Operational Review was made public by the Minister for Resources and Energy
in May 2012.
2.
Regulator Operating Practices
(Recommendations: 5-9; 14; 16-19; 22-35; 39-40; 41-44; 48-41; 69; 81-83)
a. Establishment of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental
Management Authority and the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator
Since the release of the Final Response, the Government has substantially reformed the
way offshore petroleum activities in Commonwealth waters are regulated and
administered. The reforms were supported by recommendations made by the MCI, and
include the establishment of a single national regulator for Commonwealth waters, in the
Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas and Storage Act 2006, for safety, well integrity,
environmental regulation and day-to-day operations of petroleum activities (NOPSEMA),
and a national titles administrator (National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator NOPTA). Both NOPSEMA and NOPTA commenced operations on 1 January 2012, and
their establishment implements in full MCI Recommendations 73, 74, and 75.
In addition, the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Regulatory Levies
Legislation Amendment (2011 Measures No.2) Act 2011 has provided for NOPSEMA to
impose levies on holders of offshore petroleum titles (in respect to regulation of
environment plans) to recover the costs associated with NOPSEMA’s administration of
the OPGGS (Environment) Regulations.
b.
National Legislative Compliance Framework
The National Legislative Compliance Framework (NLCF) was finalised and published on
the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (RET) website in November 2011.
The NLCF supports consistent best practice approaches by regulators of Australia’s
petroleum industry.
State and territory regulators, NOPSEMA and NOPTA have agreed to undertake a self
assessment of their regulatory operations against the NLCF and will make changes as
appropriate supporting implementation of regulatory best practice.
3.
Response Arrangements
(Recommendations: 81; 84-86; 94)
a.
Responding to a future offshore petroleum incident
The Commonwealth, through the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, is
progressing development of an Incident Management and Coordination Framework
specific to an offshore petroleum incident in Commonwealth waters. This framework will
be finalised in light of the Commonwealth’s response to the Review of the National Plan
to Combat Pollution of the Sea and Oil and Other Noxious and Hazardous Substances
(the National Plan) (refer 3(b) below).
b. Review of Australia’s National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil and other
Noxious and Hazardous Substances and the ‘Polluter Pays Principle’
In December 2011, AMSA released the draft Review of Australia’s National Plan to
Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil and Other Noxious and Hazardous Substance and the
National Maritime Emergency Response Arrangements (Draft National Plan Review).
The Draft National Plan Review, among other things, analysed how well Australia is
meeting its international obligations, the adequacy and suitability of the National
Maritime Emergency Response Arrangements (NMERA). It identifies areas where the
efficiency and effectiveness of NMERA can be improved and made recommendations to
improve the National Plan (Refer MCI recommendation 86, 88, and 93). AMSA as the
manager of the National Plan is responding to the National Plan Review through
engagement with stakeholders, including Sate and Territory Governments,
Commonwealth agencies, various industry representatives (shipping; offshore petroleum;
fisheries, and others) and environmental and community representatives. Finalisation of
the National Plan review, including re-negotiation of the Intergovernmental Agreement, is
anticipated for December 2013.
4.
Environmental Management
(Recommendations: 86-93; 95-100)
a.
Strengthen environmental protection regime for Commonwealth waters, through
the legislative regime and the review of the National Plan
As outlined in 1(a) above, during 2012-2013 the Government will bring forward proposed
amendments to:

the OPGGS Act to impose a statutory duty requiring titleholders to stop, contain,
control and clean up a hydrocarbon spill; carry out appropriate monitoring; and to
remediate the environment, including an ability for third parties to recover from
the titleholder costs if the titleholder breaches the duty. This strengthens and
clarifies the existing legislative application of the ‘polluter pays’ principle (Refer
MCI recommendation 95 and 96).

Amendments to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act
1999 (EPBC Act) to strengthen the legislative application of the ‘polluter pays
principle’, with a focus on creating offences for causing damage to the
environment in connection with the Commonwealth marine area, and
strengthening remediation determination powers (Refer MCI recommendation 95
and 96).
Also, the National Plan Review will take account of roles and responsibilities for
environmental and scientific monitoring. Finalisation of the National Plan review is
anticipated for December 2013.
b.
“Off the Shelf” Monitoring Program
The MCI Recommendation 90 recommended the development of ‘off the shelf’
monitoring programs that can be implemented quickly following a future incident in
Commonwealth waters.
Within the bounds of its environmental management functions, as provided for in the
OPGGS Act, NOPSEMA, in consultation with the Department of Sustainability, Water,
Environment, Population and Communities (DSEWPaC), is leading the development of
’off the shelf’ monitoring guidance which will detail how operators could meet their
current and future obligations under the OPGGS Act. NOPSEMA is leading the
development of ‘off the shelf’ monitoring tools as it is relevant to its environmental
management functions.
Also, the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, NOPSEMA and AMSA have
jointly prepared an Explanatory Note clarifying the arrangements for oil spill
preparedness and response as they relate to offshore petroleum industry activities in the
Commonwealth offshore area. The Explanatory Note is published on the NOPSEMA
website and clarifies, as an interim measure, the arrangements for oil spill preparedness
and response as they relate to offshore petroleum activities in the Commonwealth
offshore area. The arrangements for offshore petroleum activities in the Commonwealth
offshore area will ultimately be reflected within the National Plan (Refer 3 (b) above).
Review of PTTEP Australasia’s Response to the Montara Blowout
c.
On 22 February 2011, the Minister for Resources and Energy entered into a binding Deed
of Agreement with PTTEP, the parent company of PTTEP Australasia (Ashmore Cartier)
Pty Ltd (PTTEP AA), to implement the PTTEP AA Montara Action Plan (MAP) in
respect of all PTTEP’s Australian activities. A copy of the Deed of Agreement is
available on the RET web site.
RET engaged Noetic Solutions Pty Ltd to independently assess and verify, including
through site visits to PTTEP’s operations, PTTEP’s progress in implementing the MAP.
The monitoring program includes four individual reviews, one every six months, over an
18 month period commencing in April 2011 and concluding in December 2012. To date,
PTTEP has met its obligations under the Deed of Agreement, which is scheduled to cease
on 21 October 2012. The Minister for Resources and Energy will consider whether any
further action is warranted in respect of the cessation of the Agreement.
The Minister for Resources and Energy through various offshore Joint Authority
decisions has also applied additional conditions to all existing offshore petroleum titles
held by PTTEP and its Australian subsidiaries, or those that it has an interest in.
5.
Additional Recommendations
(Recommendations: 4; 11-15; 21; 36; 37; 45-47; 52-56; 57-60; 61-63; and 65)
a.
Offshore Petroleum Industry
Oil and gas companies have been applying the lessons from the Montara and Macondo
incidents both domestically and internationally, in well design operational procedures,
reporting, competency and regulation of offshore wells.
The Australian industry is constantly evaluating its procedures and practices to ensure
that its operations are safe and environmentally sustainable. Members of the Australian
Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) (the peak national body
representing Australia’s oil and gas exploration and production industry) have been
working at three levels: with individual companies, nationally through APPEA’s Montara
Taskforce and the Australian Marine Oil Spill Centre (AMOSC), and internationally
through the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (OGP), focussing on:

Prevention;

Intervention; and

Response capability.
Furthermore, offshore oil and gas companies operating in Australia have thoroughly
reviewed and amended critical safety, environmental management and operational areas
including: well design, integrity and operations; barrier principles; verifications systems;
oil spill response capacities and preparedness; and blowout contingency plans.
Companies have demonstrated their commitment to continuous improvement and
implementing leading industry practice, and they regularly evaluate and amend their
practices and procedures on a project and activity basis.
b.
APPEA Montara Response Taskforce
In 2010, the APPEA Board established a “Montara Response Taskforce” to advise the
APPEA Board on, and co-ordinate, cross-industry actions in relation to well integrity and
oil spill response. Under the auspices of the Taskforce, the industry has developed a
program of collaborative activities aimed at improving Australia’s well incident
prevention, intervention and response capability. Specifically the work has delivered:
A Self-Audit Tool that aims to assist companies with assessing their management
systems, and clarifying responsibilities between the titleholder and the facility operator.
The tool focuses on the critical areas of well planning, preparation, execution and
operations.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on mutual aid which sets up a framework for
‘best endeavours’ mutual assistance arrangements, under which parties to the
memorandum have agreed to assist each other and share equipment in responding to an
offshore well incident. The MoU recognises that emergency conditions arise that
necessitate urgent response and assistance by the industry to minimise adverse impacts.
Establishment of the APPEA Well Integrity and Safety Committee, whose aim is to
increase sharing of information and collaboration within the Australian offshore
petroleum industry, promoting implementation of leading practice procedures and
operations
Expanding oil spill response capability of the offshore petroleum industry including
through the industry funded Australian Maritime Oil Spill Centre (AMOSC) reviewing
preparedness and response equipment and strategies including planning, training, location
and levels of spill response equipment, as well as the design and construction of an
Australian based well capping and containment solution.
c.
Australian Well Capping and Containment Solution
One of the key outcomes of the Australian Government hosted International Offshore
Petroleum Regulators and Operators Summit (the Summit) held in August 2011 was the
announcement of APPEA’s commitment to develop an Australian Well Capping and
Containment Solution.
The Australian solution is being developed as part of the international capping and
containment solution led by the Subsea Well Response Project (SWRP). The SWRP is
preparing four capping stacks, with each stack capable of handling a variety of scenarios.
The capping stacks will be stored at separate locations in Brazil, Norway, South Africa
and Singapore. From these locations, the kits can be transported by sea or air to possible
incidents around the world.
On 14 May 2012 APPEA announced funding for a sub-sea response solution to be in
place by early 2013. A consortium of 12 oil and gas companies operating in Australian
waters (Apache, BP, BHP Billiton Petroleum, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ENI,
ExxonMobil, INPEX, PTTEP, Santos, Shell and Woodside), have committed more than
$2 million as Foundation Members for the development of the Australian component of
the Well Capping and Containment Solution.
The Australian component of the Well Capping and Containment Solution will be
managed under the auspice of AMOSC, which will provide the organisational structure to
oversight the establishment of the Subsea First Response Toolkit, an additional
component of this solution. The Subsea First Response Toolkit will be located in
Australia and will contain all relevant specialised equipment to enable the well-head and
surrounding area, including the seabed, to be cleaned up and made safe for installation of
a ‘capping’ device. The industry consortium will fund the acquisition, maintenance and
deployment of the Subsea First Response Toolkit over the next five years. All Australian
offshore petroleum operators will have access to the toolkit on an affordable basis.
Supporting this development, APPEA has established a “technical group” to provide
advice on the equipment, including maintenance and training requirements for the Subsea
First Response Toolkit.
6.
Other matters
a. Lessons for Industry- International Offshore Petroleum regulators and Operators
Summit (August 2011)
On 10-11 August 2011, the International Offshore Petroleum Regulators and Operators
Summit (the Summit) organised by the Australian Government, was held in Perth,
Western Australia.
The Summit provided a global platform for Governments, industry and regulators to
review the collective lessons arising from the 2009 Montara and 2010 Gulf of Mexico
incidents. It also provided an opportunity for international collaboration to identify best
practice arrangements to strengthen existing offshore petroleum regulatory frameworks.
Topics included culture, leadership and management; incident response and preparedness;
environmental impacts and management; and innovation and R&D in deep sea drilling.
Over 400 delegates attended the Summit, comprising government representatives,
regulators, operators and industry professionals from China, Europe, Indonesia, New
Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, South America, Timor-Leste, and the United
States of America.
The Summit outcomes focussed on the theme of “Cooperation, Commitment, and
Prevention,” under the broader headings of Government, Regulation, and Industry. The
‘Summit Outcome Statement and Action Plan’ endorsed by the Government, APPEA,
and NOSPEMA is available on the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism’s
website.
b.
International Engagement - US Ministerial Forum on Offshore Energy Safety
On 14 April 2011 the Department of Interior of the United States of America, hosted the
inaugural Ministerial Forum on Offshore Energy Safety. The Forum, Offshore Drilling
and Containment, focussed specifically on the lessons learned from the Montara and
Macondo incidents and global developments in well containment technologies. The
Australian delegation included a senior government official from each of the Department
of Resources, Energy and Tourism and the national offshore petroleum safety regulator.
Australia presented on the Montara incident and Australia's Policy Response.
The 2012 Ministerial Forum on Offshore Energy Safety was held in Norway in June. The
Forum focused on offshore safety priorities, current and emerging, that are identified by
Government, Regulators and the offshore petroleum industry, supporting continued action
to improve the safety of offshore petroleum operations, through best practice legislation,
regulatory approach and industry operations.
c.
International Regulators Forum
The International Regulators Forum (IRF) promotes improvements in offshore health and
safety through collaboration in joint programs and sharing of information. The IRF is a
group of nine regulators of health and safety in the offshore upstream oil and gas industry
from Australia, Norway, the United States, Mexico, New Zealand, Canada, Brazil, the
United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. It holds an annual plenary meeting and
periodically hosts an International Regulators’ Offshore Safety Conferences.
Australia is represented on the IRF through the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and
Environmental Management Authority.
In October 2011, the IRF held a summit conference in Stavanger, Norway, to review
progress on the application of learning’s and outcomes following the Montara and
Macondo incidents and to identify what more needs to be done by industry and
regulators. The key outcomes of the IRF Summit Conference included:
d.

The need for better coordination between safety and environmental regulation,
responses and outcomes, recognising the difference between the performancebased approach to safety regulation and environmental regulation which
historically has been more compliance orientated;

An emphasis on the principal of continuous improvement by industry and
regulators: “We don’t need a catastrophe to move forward” (Magne Ognedal,
Director General, Petroleum Safety Authority Norway);

A major theme around the use of internationally consistent standards by operators
and regulators, within goal-setting, performance-based regimes;

Recognition that action on prevention will yield the most effective outcomes for
safety; and

A general concern of industry and European regulators with calls to put offshore
regulation in Europe under a central European Union body.
Global Marine Environment Protection Working Group
Prompted by several high profile offshore drilling accidents, G20 Leaders took the
initiative in 2010 to create the Global Marine Environment Protection (GMEP) Working
Group, comprised of G20 countries and international organisations. Its mandate is to
“share best practices to protect the marine environment, to prevent accidents related to
offshore exploration and development, as well as marine transportation, and to deal with
their consequences”.
Australia is represented on the G20 GMEP Working Group through the Department of
Resources, Energy and Tourism.
The GMEP Working Group has actively engaged with the offshore oil and gas industry
and in July 2011 it hosted a seminar with offshore petroleum companies from around the
world, the G20 and other invited countries, and international associations and
organisations.
Participants discussed the latest developments in the offshore oil and gas industry’s
efforts to ensure safety and to minimize the environmental impacts of offshore oil and gas
exploration and development. Conclusions underlined the need for international
cooperation to prevent offshore oil spills and to develop emergency preparedness and
response strategies. Participants expressed a desire to continue this work by further
exploring mechanisms to exchange best practices.
The GMEP Working Group has agreed to establish a Marine Environment Protection
Best Practices Sharing Mechanism in the form of a website supported by face-to-face
meetings. It is proposed that the mechanism, once established, will be used as a means to
exchange information about best practices to protect the marine environment and to
prevent accidents related to offshore oil and gas exploration and development.
e.
Offshore Petroleum Industry
The Australian industry continues to work closely with the international offshore oil and
gas industry through the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (OGP).
In response to the April 2010 Macondo incident in the US Gulf of Mexico, the OGP
established a Global Industry Response Group (GIRG), which made a number of
recommendations for improving well incident prevention, intervention and response
capability. The international industry has formed three entities to implement the
recommendations of the GIRG, they are:

an OGP-governed Well Expert Committee that is considering incident prevention,
with a focus on the design and operations of subsea wells in deepwater;

a well capping consortium representing nine major oil and gas companies; and a

a Joint Industry Project on Oil Spill Response, which is looking at all elements of
oil spill response including practices, modelling and monitoring risk/hazard
assessment models, principles on dispersant use (surface, aerial and subsea) and
the role of in-situ burning as a response strategy.
Australian industry interests are represented directly by companies through their
international offices, and/or APPEA, and AMOSC for oil spill response, as direct
members of these entities.