In The Hague this week, Australia worked hard to minimise the legal liability of major emitters and fossil fuel exporters for their contribution to climate change.
Australia Energy Producers, formerly th Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association, is the lobby group for oil and gas producers in Australia. In WA it backs massive offshore LNG projects, Perth Basin gas and fracking in the Kimberley.
Australia's oil and gas industry has lost the fight not to bear the full cost of cleaning up after an oil vessel in the Timor Sea with a bankrupt owner.
For every dollar Woodside saved in 2015 selling the Northern Endeavour, the oil and gas industry may have to pay back threefold after the Federal Government moved to protect ordinary taxpayers from the cost of decommissioning the vessel and oil field.
Investors in Australia's offshore oil and gas industry will find it harder to avoid paying to clean up the assets they profited from under draft legislation released today.
Shell's accountants predict the Dutch giant will never pay Australia for gas consumed at the Gorgon and Prelude LNG projects that it can sell for up to about $4 billion a year.
While Australia's offshore oil and gas industry grew safety regulator NOPSEMA was troubled by cost-cutting operators, old wells to clean up and dealing with COVID-19.
It will cost $76 billion to clean up after Australia's oil and gas industry, with a good chunk to be borne by taxpayers, and no one is in a hurry to start the work.
Emissions-heavy corporate Western Australia wants the WA Environmental Protection Authority to leave control of greenhouse gases to the Federal Government.
Maintaining social license for oil and gas keeps executives awake at night according to industry lobby group APPEA that is researching how to fix the problem
