Alcoa fail tests for protecting cockatoos and drinking water
The US miner has held back findings that it drilled near Cockatoo nesting trees and has had its plans for protecting Perth's water supply rejected.
The WA Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration oversees regulation and policy for the state's resources sector. Before 2025 it was the part of the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.
The WA environment regulator is investigating unknown amounts of hydrocarbons rising to the surface on the Class A nature reserve.
The 2022 incident is one of many at Alcoa's three refineries that are under an increased level of surveillance from the work safety regulator.
Santos and Chevron, through Varanus and Barrow Islands, have a big part to play in the clean up of 1000 oil and gas wells in WA, with about 300 ready to be plugged now.
Terrifying video shows an offshore lift that went badly wrong off the WA coast in early July endangering workers hanging off a platform and those on the vessel.
Woodside has found corrosion during a shutdown of the North West Shelf's LNG Train 4 that potentially is a serious concern. It is understood Woodside is now inspecting other trains for the problem.
Chevron's Gorgon should be a showpiece of carbon capture and storage but five years after first LNG it is still not working properly and has another five-month extension from the regulator.
Two companies are chasing geothermal energy in WA but others must wait to compete for new acreage due to be released by September.
Gorgon LNG's carbon emissions will jump by more than one million tonnes a year until Chevron fixes an underground pressure management problem that caused WA's safety regulator to curtail CO2 injection by two-thirds.
Welders will have to grind out and redo repairs at Gorgon performed to an incorrect procedure provided by Chevron and the delay could cost up to $250M.
Chevron faces shutting Gorgon LNG down to make it safe after WA safety regulators responded to reports of thousands of cracks in propane-filled vessels.
Chevron has "put additional mitigations in place" to protect workers while it mulls what to do with two giant LNG trains operating at Gorgon that could have defective welds.
Chevron intends to have cracked propane vessels fixed and Gorgon LNG back in full production by September as it awaits inspection by the safety regulator.
All the info and a bit of comment on WA energy and climate every Friday