OPGGS Environment Regulations 2023 remake now in effect

As of today, amendments made to the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Environment) Regulations 2023 (2023 Environment Regulations) instrument have now come into effect.

The previous version of the 2009 Environment Regulations have expired and been remade into the 2023 Environment Regulations in essentially the same form, with no substantive changes to policy.

The revisions are limited to minor amendments to provide consistency with current drafting practices, simplify language, and the restructuring and renumbering of regulatory provisions for ease of navigation.

To support the regulatory changes, a concordance table has been published which provides a readily accessible ‘before and after’ for each provision of the 2009 Environment Regulations.

Titleholders intending to submit environment plans (EP) close to the 10 January 2024 changeover are encouraged to reference the new 2023 Environment Regulations provisions.

However, NOPSEMA acknowledges this may be inconvenient with some EPs that are well progressed and close to being finalised.

For any submissions made close to 10 January that reference the 2009 version of the regulations, NOPSEMA will identify these old references as part of the normal EP assessment process before being returned to titleholders.