Decommissioning – What’s the fuss about?
Pat Saraceni A B and Keely Liddle AA Clifford Chance, Level 7, 190 St Georges Terrace, Perth, WA 6000, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: pat.saraceni@cliffordchance.com
The APPEA Journal 58(2) 748-752 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ17223
Accepted: 5 March 2018 Published: 28 May 2018
Abstract
Offshore decommissioning is complex, challenging (both legally and operationally) and costly. With the rise in the number of fields approaching end of life (or economic viability), the interest in decommissioning in and around Australian waters is set to increase in the near to medium future. The lack of established federal laws regulating all aspects of decommissioning opens the door for Australia to show innovative leadership in how best to tackle end of life asset management in the oil and gas sector.
Australia’s learning in this area will be aided by the laws of jurisdictions that are better-versed and more experienced in offshore decommissioning, such as the United Kingdom, the United States and Norway. This paper will explore Australia’s current legal framework and the issues faced by Australia in this area. While clear policies and regulations are essential, this does not equate to a single rigid approach. A flexible (but consistent) approach is the ideal. By considering how international regulatory regimes for decommissioning may be adapted to Australia, the paper will propose actions regulators and participants in the industry can take now to prepare for and ride (rather than drown in) the decommissioning wave.
Keywords: Australia, end of life, environmental protection, International Maritime Organisation (IMO 1989), offshore, OPGGSA, petroleum, regulation.
Dr Pat Saraceni is Director of Litigation and Dispute Resolution at Clifford Chance, Perth. She has over 30 years of experience specialising in complex commercial and contractual disputes. She regularly appears in the superior courts and is experienced in litigation, arbitration and mediations in a range of sectors including energy, oil and gas, mining, insurance and shipping. Pat is recognised in Doyle’s Leading Transport Lawyers and Law Firm Ranking – Australia 2016. She has also been named in The Best Lawyers in Australia 2017 for her work in Shipping and Maritime Law. Pat leads the Australian Maritime Team that won the 2016 Award for Maritime and Shipping Law Firm of the Year Australia, Lawyer Monthly Legal Awards. Pat was awarded a Doctorate of Juridical Science (SJD) in Shipping and Maritime law and a Master of Laws from the University of Western Australia. She is President of the Maritime Law Association of Australia and New Zealand (MLAANZ). |
Keely Liddle is an Associate in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution team at Clifford Chance Perth. She has a BA and LLB (Hons) from the University of Western Australia. |
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