Decommissioning the Northern Endeavour

The Northern Endeavour is a 274m long floating production, storage and offtake (FPSO) facility. It's permanently moored between the Laminaria and Corallina oil fields, about 550 km northwest of Darwin in the Timor Sea.

There are 9 oil wells on the sea floor associated with these oil fields.

Why we’re decommissioning the Northern Endeavour

Following the liquidation of the former private owner, the Commonwealth now owns the Northern Endeavour FPSO. As a result, the Australian Government plans to decommission, disconnect and dispose of the FPSO and remediate the Laminaria-Corallina oilfields.

Decommissioning is a normal and planned activity carried out in the offshore petroleum industry. It involves the safe removal and recycling of oil and gas production infrastructure. It also includes rehabilitating and removing risks to the surrounding marine environment. 

Laminaria and Corallina Decommissioning Cost Recovery Levy

The Laminaria and Corallina Decommissioning Cost Recovery Levy recovers costs associated with decommissioning the facility from the oil and gas industry. The levy ensures taxpayers don’t pay for decommissioning and remediation.

How we’re decommissioning the Northern Endeavour

We aim to complete the decommissioning work efficiently and safely, ensuring value for money and protecting the surrounding environment.

We’re managing the program across 3 phases and our role includes:

• procuring and overseeing lead contractors to do the work
• detailed planning and regulatory approvals, including environmental approvals under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act) 1999.

Phase 1: Decommission, disconnect from subsea infrastructure, tow and recycling of the FPSO

During this phase we’re:

• temporarily suspending the oil wells 
• disconnecting the facility from the flowlines and moorings that anchor it to the seabed to allow towing
• towing the FPSO to a suitable facility for recycling.

Our department has conditional environmental approval under the EPBC Act for this phase. This authorises us to conduct:

• routine and maintenance operations of the FPSO and associated resource fields
• phase 1 decommissioning activities.

There are 34 conditions we must meet while completing these activities. These conditions set high standards for protecting the environment.

Petrofac Facilities Management Limited (Petrofac) is the registered operator and lead contractor delivering phase 1 decommissioning activities for our department. It must comply with the conditions. The first annual compliance report outlines what we have been doing to meet these conditions.

Phase 2: Permanently plug and abandon wells

After disconnecting and removing the FPSO, we’ll:

• permanently plug and abandon the oil wells to protect the environment
• remove the well infrastructure. 

Phase 3: Remove subsea infrastructure and remediate the Laminaria and Corallina fields

During this phase we’ll remove the remaining subsea equipment and infrastructure and transport it to shore for safe reuse and recycling. This includes removing flowlines, chains and mooring infrastructure.

Decommissioning progress 

Phase 1 decommissioning is underway. Planning and procurement for the towing and recycling of the FPSO, and phases 2 and 3 is happening concurrently.