WA Premier Mark McGowan warned Alcoa to lift its game or face curtailed mining, but his successor Roger Cook slashed water supply protections after a possibly empty threat from the US miner.
WA Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration (DMPE)
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.
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.
The safety and economic stakes for Gorgon LNG are high as WA Government inspectors soon head to Barrow Island to check on Chevron's cracked pressure vessels.
Safety regulators knew nothing of cracked pressure vessels at Chevron's Gorgon LNG plant until alerted by media reports and now plan to inspect the equipment themselves.
Thousands of cracks raise questions about the safety of the Gorgon LNG plant and operator Chevron will decide to shutdown or maintain revenue, with the safety regulator on the sidelines.
Offshore oil and gas operators that continually delay costly decommissioning will now be watched more closely by offshore safety and environment regulator NOPSEMA.
