WA Premier Roger Cook's core "Made in WA" election policy will be tested by his use of local content provisions to keep Chevron's WA engineers working in WA.
The Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety oversees workplace health and safety in WA and NOPSEMA is responsible for offshore workers in Commonwealth waters.
The Australian oil and gas industry shed about 3000 jobs in 2020, a far deeper cut than the national average, leaving the offshore safety regulator NOPSEMA worried about lack of maintenance.
While Australia's offshore oil and gas industry grew safety regulator NOPSEMA was troubled by cost-cutting operators, old wells to clean up and dealing with COVID-19.
After 200 tonnes of large pipe fell out of control Inpex and Maersk cannot drill for more gas at Ichthys until they convince the regulator that there will be no potentially fatal incidents.
Chevron has another pressure vessel to worry about, this time on the Wheatstone platform, after Gorgon LNG production was slashed this year to fix faulty welds.
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.
Shell's Prelude floating LNG has stumbled on the road back to production after a failed seal caused subsea wells to be shut-in days after they were opened.
The wells are open and safety inspectors arriving as Shell looks to recommence LNG production from its problematic Prelude floating LNG vessel off the WA coast.
Chevron's problems at Gorgon LNG from faulty welds years ago in a South Korean factory continue with delays to repairing the first of three trains to be fixed.
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.
