It may be winter in Australia, but the offshore debate is heating up. I awoke to a stream of emails from Odd Finnestad who follows the Australian news very closely. Odd noted that the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) Safety Conference opened with a presentation on the industry response to Montara. Further from Odd:
Then, Martin Ferguson, who was apparently also present, gave an address. Quotes of his speech appear in numerous articles, and the cat is now out of the bag: The Montara report will NOT be released before the election! And, should the Gillard Labour Party win the battle, Martin says there will be a shift to a national regulator in Australia from January 1, 2012.
See this article for a good summary of Minister Ferguson’s remarks.
Creating a new all-powerful national regulator for the offshore oil and gas industry would be a top priority of a re-elected Gillard Labor government, federal resources minister Martin Ferguson said today.
While the other states appear to be on board, the West Australia government is not happy.
The most colorful quote is from APPEA CEO Belinda Robinson:
Knee-jerk reactions such as calls for moratoriums on offshore exploration were not the answer and it was important not to “overdo the self-flagellation”, she said.
BOE comment: We’re not looking for “self-flagellation,” but a little humility would be nice. Ms. Robinson and industry leaders in Australia, the US, and elsewhere need to take a close look at the safety culture of the industry they represent. The reactive studies that are necessary to satisfy government authorities are not enough. The goal should be participation by all offshore operators in organized programs that assess across-the-board risks and address problem areas before major accidents occur.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 