Canadian firm Vermilion judged the chance of the December spill as "rare" - the same probability it claims for seven planned exploration wells that could affect anywhere along the Pilbara coast.
Chief executive Bill Oplinger told Wall Street the miner had responded to all 60,000 comments on its WA expansion plans—in fact, it responded to fewer than 10, and some were unacceptable.
The WA government will soon decide whether Black Mountain Energy can frack 20 wells near the Kimberley's Fitzroy River, but promised measures to protect the environment and the rights of local people are not yet in place.
National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA)
The Perth-based National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority is the independent health, safety and environmental regulator for oil and gas in Commonwealth waters.
Concerns about potential oil leaks caused the safety regulator to bar workers from an area of the MODEC Venture 11 floating production facility off WA for over a week.
