Published directions and notices
As part of its regulatory functions under the OPGGS Act and to increase transparency, NOPSEMA publishes directions, prohibition notices and improvement notices. These regulatory enforcement actions are published within 7 days and no later than 21 days of issuance and the provisions for publication do not apply to any other types of notices, letters or enforcement actions issued by NOPSEMA or NOPSEMA inspectors.
Published directions, improvement and prohibition notices will not be removed when they cease to have effect, however, in the event a direction/notice is the subject of external review it will be removed. Where a direction is revoked, the direction is cancelled from the date specified in the revocation notice. NOPSEMA will ensure that as far as is reasonably practicable all personal information as defined in the Privacy Act 1988 is redacted from these documents prior to publication. When a direction or notice is marked closed, it means that the duty holder has notified NOPSEMA that the direction or notice has been complied with.
Under Part 6.2 of the OPGGS Act, NOPSEMA and the responsible Commonwealth Minister have powers to issue directions to petroleum or greenhouse gas titleholders. NOPSEMA can issue three types of directions: general directions, significant incident directions and remedial directions. The directions powers are used by NOPSEMA for enforcing compliance with the OPGGS Act and associated regulations. Failure to comply with directions is an offence.
A prohibition notice may be issued if a NOPSEMA inspector is satisfied on reasonable grounds that there is an immediate threat to the health or safety of any person or an immediate and significant threat to the environment. A prohibition notice stops the duty holder from continuing their activity and will only cease to have effect when a NOPSEMA inspector is satisfied adequate action has been taken to remove the threat specified in the notice. Failure to comply with a prohibition notice is an offence.
An improvement notice may be issued if a NOPSEMA inspector believes the duty holder or titleholder is contravening or has contravened a provision of offshore petroleum Commonwealth OHS or environmental law and as a result there is, or could be, a risk to the health and safety of any person or a significant threat to the environment. The notice will cease to have effect when the responsible duty holder or titleholder takes the action specified in the notice. Failure to comply with an improvement notice is an offence.
Sort published directions and notices
| Type Of Notice | Date issued | Organisation | Facility / activity | Notice | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OHS Improvement Notice Inadequate control of safety critical instrumentation and valves could lead to loss of containment and a major accident event.
|
09/02/2017 | MODEC Venture 11 B.V. | MODEC Venture 11 | A539296.pdf | Complied with |
| OHS Improvement Notice Inadequate control of safety critical instrumentation and valves could lead to loss of containment and a major accident event.
|
09/02/2017 | MODEC Venture 11 B.V. | MODEC Venture 11 | A539295.pdf | Complied with |
| Environmental Prohibition Notice Seismic sound exposure from the airgun array at levels that have been shown to cause negative biological effects to rock lobsters leading to an economic loss.
|
11/11/2016 | Origin Energy Resources | Crowes Foot Marine Seismic Survey | A525861.pdf | Complied with |
| Environmental Prohibition Notice An inadequate capability and capacity to respond to an oil spill from an uncontrolled release of petroleum resulting in short and long term biological, ecological and social harm.
|
24/06/2016 | Timor Sea Oil and Gas Australia Pty Ltd | Northern Endeavour Floating Production Storage and Offloading Facility | A490997.pdf | Complied with |
| Environmental Improvement Notice Petroleum activities subject to the local processes for change management may expose the environment to unidentified and unmanaged impacts and risks such as disruption to fishing effort, loss of catch, and/or significant impacts on matters protected under Part 3 of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
|
24/12/2015 | Woodside Burrup Pty Ltd | Pluto 4D Marine Seismic Survey | A463601.pdf | Complied with |
| OHS Improvement Notice Failure to put in place adequate arrangements for the evacuation of saturations divers to a place of safety in the event of an emergency.
|
09/12/2015 | Subsea 7 Australia Contracting Pty Ltd | Seven Eagle | A461787.pdf | Complied with |
| OHS Improvement Notice The operator of the facility could not demonstrate that it had reasonably assured the design, construction and installation of equipment and arrangements for towing the Self-Propelled Hyperbaric Lifeboat (SPHL) would protect the safety of divers.
|
03/12/2015 | Technip Oceania Pty Ltd | Wellservicer | A458873.pdf | Complied with |
| OHS Improvement Notice Increased health and safety risk to facility personnel is present, due to the lifeboats and muster stations not being afforded protection from credible blowout events.
|
28/10/2015 | Noble Contracting II GmbH | Noble Tom Prosser | A452990.pdf | Complied with |
| OHS Improvement Notice Permit to work procedures are not being followed to ensure that systems of work are safe and without risk to health.
|
27/10/2015 | Atwood Australian Waters Drilling Pty Ltd | Atwood Eagle | A452912.pdf | Complied with |
| OHS Improvement Notice The JSA (Job Safety Analysis) process applied did not provide sufficient detail for the workforce to fully understand the nature of the hazards and to identify the controls necessary for the management of the hazards and risks.
|
27/10/2015 | Atwood Australian Waters Drilling Pty Ltd | Atwood Eagle | A452887.pdf | Complied with |