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Australian Energy Producers Journal Australian Energy Producers Journal Society
Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)

Reducing the complexity of environmental approvals: learnings from an industry-wide collaborative effort

Matthew Smith
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191 St Georges Terrace, Perth, WA 6000, Australia. Email: msmith@klarite.com.au

The APPEA Journal 59(2) 719-723 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ18273
Accepted: 14 March 2019   Published: 17 June 2019

Abstract

This extended abstract uses the reference case project, initiated by National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority, now led by National Energy Resources Australia, to delve into the underlying issues in the environmental approvals process and propose the root causes that have influenced this flagship collaborative effort. Collaboration for competitors is inherently difficult. The basis for meaningful collaboration is to find intractable problems that are better solved by a collection of participants with a common purpose. The environmental approvals process has evolved into an intractable problem that is adversely affecting the oil and gas industry’s ability to explore by becoming a barrier to investment and a source of uncertainty in project execution. Successive Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association conferences, and oil and gas industry leaders, have frequently promoted the collaboration imperative to the industry. Indeed, there is broad agreement, and many international examples on matters of health, safety and environmental management, that there is no value in competition. Why then is meaningful collaboration so difficult to deliver in an environmental management setting in Australia? This paper explores the successes and failures of the reference case project to illuminate the realities of collaboration in the Australian offshore petroleum industry. The paper shares insights from project leads, participants, decision makers and stakeholders and covers how collaboration can unlock barriers to investment and deliver greater certainty to the oil and gas industry and the Australian community.

Keywords: best practice, common practices, environmental performance, environmental performance standards, impact assessment, international standards, reference cases, risk assessment, standards.

Matt Smith is a marine engineer with experience in operations, training, business development, emergency response and regulation of the oil and gas industry. Matt has an MBA and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. After 6 years establishing the environment division at NOPSEMA, Matt joined NERA in early 2018 to help grow the Australian oil and gas sector through delivering collaborative and innovative projects. Matt now runs a boutique environmental and technology company specialising in environmental approvals and social licence.