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.
Italian oil and gas company ENI owns the Blacktip gas project and has interests in Bayu Undan, Darwin LNG, Evans Shoal gas field and the shuttered Woolybutt oil field.
Santos and ENI are looking for solutions for CO2 and removing old facilities in the waters north of Darwin. Time will tell if the problems are solved or just delayed.
ENI's plan to sell out of Australia and leave offshore decommissioning liabilities to others has struck trouble from regulator NOPSEMA and new Government policy proposals.
An eight year wait for ENI's Woollybutt oil field to be decommissioned and poor maintenance have caused subsea kit to surface and pose a danger to vessels.
