Unique challenges and opportunities in decommissioning the Northern Endeavour

The Northern Endeavour is the first deepwater decommissioning project to occur in Australian waters. It’s also a first for the Australian Government. The project involves decommissioning the floating production storage and offtake (FPSO) facility and remediating the Laminaria and Corallina oil fields.

We’ve worked with a range of industry experts at each stage of the project to navigate:

• degradation because of the facility’s age and condition
• having to tow and recycle the FPSO as well as decommission it
• difficulties accessing specialised support vessels
• complex regulations.

This has allowed us to strengthen our relationships with industry and is informing our policy development work. 

Age and condition of the facility

Built in 1999, the Northern Endeavour was designed to be in service for 20 years.

The Northern Endeavour was in a state of disrepair when the Commonwealth took over responsibility for the facility in 2020. Excessive corrosion was causing structural integrity issues and much of the operating equipment on the FPSO had become unreliable. 

Since then, our contractors have been working on an ongoing program of repair and maintenance. These works are to maintain the class of the FPSO and ensure the safety of workers and the environment. National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) also regularly inspects the safety of the FPSO.

Systems and equipment

Many of the systems and equipment on board were well past their useful life, needing extensive repairs and maintenance, or complete replacement. However, the facility’s age meant that spare parts or replacements were no longer manufactured and were difficult to find. 

There were issues with several important systems on the vessel:

• plumbing
• sewerage treatment
• fire and gas detection
• power generation
• utility systems such as fresh water, seawater and compressed air.

Structural integrity

Structural integrity was also at risk from excessive corrosion. Significant works have strengthened and replaced critically damaged infrastructure. For example, we replaced steel beams and supports and treated them for rust and put in place extensive scaffolding to support the overall structure.

FPSO towing and recycling

The earlier scope and funding of the program didn’t include towing and recycling of the FPSO. The Commonwealth only became responsible for this work in September 2023. This was when the Supreme Court of NSW granted orders vesting ownership of the vessel to the Commonwealth. 

We’ve now begun planning for this work and are engaging with industry to work out where and how to recycle the FPSO.

The FPSO’s overall poor condition makes towing complicated. The FPSO needs more maintenance and safety improvement work to prepare it for towing to a recycling location. Depending on where this happens, we may need to apply for hazardous waste permits and manage biosecurity issues.

Availability of support vessels and expertise

Some of the ongoing FPSO operation and decommissioning activities need specialist support vessels, equipment and expertise. However, securing suitable vessels when we need them is challenging because limited vessels are available worldwide.

Most vessels operate in the Northern Hemisphere where a large amount of decommissioning work is underway. This market demand, and long sailing times to Australian waters, has caused delays and increased costs.   

Regulatory approvals and compliance

Current regulation for decommissioning oil and gas industry infrastructure makes the titleholder of a facility responsible. Title holders must be oil and gas producing companies. As the Commonwealth is not an oil and gas producing company it can’t be the titleholder of the Northern Endeavour. This has resulted in applying complex arrangements to ensure effective regulation of the program.

Decommissioning arrangements are more complex for us. We must work with 2 government departments, NOPSEMA and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW). While oil and gas companies only work with NOPSEMA. 

NOPSEMA regulate our program's safety compliance and DCCEEW regulate our compliance with the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

Like any other titleholder, we need to get a range of regulatory approvals before we can begin some activities. We must comply with a range of Australian Government legislation, including:

• Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)
• Biosecurity Act 2015
• Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989
• Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981.

Many of these have detailed and scientific requirements and need a large volume of work. For example, we must meet 34 conditions under the EPBC Act while completing activities for phase 1. This includes adhering to strict discharge limits and controls.

We’ve engaged technical experts to make sure that our data, methods and information is accurate and in line with regulator guidance and standards. 

To produce decommissioning outcomes, we’ve agreed to meet all regulations. 

Opportunities to share expertise and inform policy

We acknowledge the Australian Government does not have the internal expertise to complete the technical aspects of the program on its own. We rely on industry expertise to support the Northern Endeavour decommissioning work program. By engaging industry for help and advice we are fostering better relationships and encouraging transparency. 

Our work with industry on the Northern Endeavour is also informing important policy development work in offshore oil and gas. This includes the upcoming Decommissioning Roadmap, which will outline how we can build an Australian decommissioning industry.