Innovation and opportunity through regulatory change
Sue McCarrey A * , Graham Blair A and Cameron Grebe AA
Abstract
Adapting to change and seizing opportunities is a constant process for all involved in offshore energy, government and industry alike. The offshore energy sector continues to adapt approaches and adopt new ways of doing business as community expectations and the regulatory framework continue to evolve. As industry explores new frontiers in carbon capture and storage and infrastructure reuse for renewables, the historic challenges of legacy wells and decommissioning remain at the forefront of planning considerations. Recognising this changing landscape, the regulator has undergone its own evolution from investigations to drive change and enhance safety standards through to consultation best practice based on cultural awareness. This change has been driven by a refocusing of priorities and increased emphasis on where the greatest regulatory impact can be achieved. This paper outlines critical learnings from the past year – what industry is doing well and ongoing opportunities for improvement, the changes being implemented by the regulator and what they mean for industry, and what lies ahead for the offshore sector in the broader legislative and regulatory regime.
Keywords: consultation, decommissioning, environment, investigation, research, regulation, safety, workforce.
 Sue McCarrey, Chief Executive Officer. Sue McCarrey joined NOPSEMA in February 2023 following eight years as the Chief Executive and National Rail Safety Regulator at the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator. Previously, Sue was the Deputy Director General, Policy, Planning and Investment at the Department of Transport in Western Australia. It was during this time that Sue led work on behalf of Western Australia on Commonwealth and state government reforms to establish the single national rail safety regulator. Earlier in her career Sue spent several years in the WA Department of Education, including working on matters relating to Commonwealth‐state relations. Sue is a member of the National Association of Women in Operations and is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration. She holds a Bachelor of Law, a Masters in Education, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. |
 Graham Blair, Deputy CEO ‐ Regulatory Operations. Graham joined NOPSEMA in February 2024 as the Deputy CEO of Regulatory Operations having previously worked for Royal Dutch Shell in Australia and overseas and bringing with him extensive experience at an executive level in the oil and gas industry. Graham's previous roles have included driving regulatory compliance of new ventures, high level stakeholder management and he has a technical background across the subsurface area including an understanding of risk. Graham has a Master of Science (Integrated Geoscience) from the University of Aberdeen and a Bachelor of Science (Geology & Applied Geology) (Hons) from the University of Glasgow. |
 Cameron Grebe, Deputy CEO ‐ Strategic Regulation and Improvement. Cameron Grebe was appointed as NOPSEMA’s inaugural Head of Environment in August 2011, and in May 2021 he took on leadership for NOPSEMA contribution to work on decommissioning as part of the Australian Government’s agenda to increase focus on aging offshore infrastructure and NOPSEMA’s support towards the government’s establishment of the framework for the offshore renewables sector, culminating in the commencement of the Offshore Infrastructure Regulator in June 2022. In February 2024, Cameron was appointed Deputy CEO for Strategic Regulation and Improvement. Prior to NOPSEMA, Cameron spent 12 years as an environmental engineer, adviser and manager at Woodside Energy and Shell Global Solutions International. Cameron holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Environmental Engineering) from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Energy Studies from Murdoch University. |
