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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Direction Santos is directed to notify NOPSEMA at least 10 days before commencement of any future activities covered by the Barossa Gas Export Pipeline Installation Environment Plan, to carry out an assessment to identify any underwater Indigenous cultural heritage places along the Barossa pipeline route, update the existing environment plan, and provide weekly progress reports of the assessment.
|
13/01/2023 | Santos NA Barossa Pty Ltd, SK E&S Australia Pty Ltd and Santos Offshore Pty Ltd | Barossa Gas Export Pipeline Installation Environment Plan | General Direction 1898.pdf | Complied with |
| OHS Improvement Notice Pipework failures and loss of containment incidents. Note: the due date for IN 1899 has been extended to 28 March 2024.
|
29/12/2022 | Vermillion Oil & Gas Australia | Wandoo A and Wandoo B | OHS Improvement Notice 1899.pdf | Open |
| General Direction Issued to ensure the impacts and risks that may occur from the RTM are managed until it can be safely removed from the title area.
|
23/12/2022 | Woodside Energy | Nganhurra Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) | General Direction 1897 - Nganhurra RTM.pdf | Complied with |
| General Direction Dropped object incident in proximity to members of the work force.
|
06/12/2022 | INPEX | Maersk Deliverer | 1892.pdf | Complied with |
| General Direction Gas bubbles detected on sea surface near John Brookes platform.
|
05/12/2022 | Santos | John Brookes | General Direction 1895 - Santos - John Brookes Pipeline.pdf | Complied with |
| OHS Prohibition Notice Drilling into potentially pressured zones of the Santos’ Spartan-2 well with well control equipment that is unfit for service.
|
21/11/2022 | Noble Contracting II GmbH | Noble Tom Prosser | A891347.pdf | Complied with |
| OHS Improvement Notice Diamond have failed to implement a safe system of work for confined space entry.
|
31/10/2022 | Diamond Offshore General, LLC | Ocean Apex | Notice 1889_0.pdf | Complied with |
| General Direction Jadestone is directed to prevent the re-introduction of produced hydrocarbons at their Montara Venture facility, until a review from a suitably qualified independent organisation has confirmed the structural integrity of the facility's hull and tanks and the facility's operational readiness.
|
12/09/2022 | Jadestone Energy (Eagle) Pty Ltd | Montara Venture | A867557.pdf | Complied with |
| OHS Improvement Notice Corrosion levels on Cargo deck plating and penetrations to propagate to a level which exceeds applicable design and code limits.
|
29/06/2022 | Woodside Energy Ltd. | Vincent | A852634.pdf | Complied with |
| General Direction Esso is directed to undertake an independent review of their integrity program to ensure structure integrity is managed effectively and consistently with industry best practice.
|
24/06/2022 | Esso Australia, BHP Petroleum (Bass Strait) | Various | A852458.pdf | Complied with |