The failure of Cliff Head's owners, Pilot Energy and Triangle Energy, to meet payroll does not bode well for their ability to pay the $200 million decommissioning cost.
Pilot Energy and Triangle Energy - two listed minnows with no revenue - may struggle to afford to decommission the Cliff Head platform off the WA coast.
The Pilbara region in north west WA is the source of two major Australian exports - iron ore and gas - and produces other commodities including lithium and salt.
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.
Troubled UK oil and gas major BP has exited its third WA alternative fuel project in six months, walking away from the Australian Renewable Energy Hub after just two years.
