Service: Responsible resources sector regulation

Staff taking part in an annual multi-agency inspection in the East Kimberley.

DMP undertakes a risk-based adaptive approach to resources development and regulatory compliance to meet community expectations. For proponents, this means having secure title to the resources they discover and develop, and being able to predict what conditions will need to be met to develop each stage of their  project.

For government, it means ensuring that workers and the community are safe, and that environmental, cultural and community values are well protected. This is achieved through the department’s various compliance activities, which range from on-site inspections and investigations, to royalty audit checks, and commencing prosecution for offenses.

This requires a robust regulatory framework that is able to adapt and respond to the needs of all its stakeholders, which range from one-off prospectors to companies requiring Lead Agency assistance with approvals for complex projects. Regular research into legislation and procedural issues ensures that the regulatory framework keeps up-to-date with current resource practices and a coordinated approach to compliance activities ensures the framework is strong.

A strong and adaptive regulatory framework has allowed the department to provide assurance of CO² storage integrity for the Gorgon Project’s separation plant on Barrow Island. A peer review of the department’s 2016 due-diligence report was conducted by a team of experts from the Illinois State Geological Survey and Schlumberger based in the United States and was completed in October 2016. The peer review concluded the department was technically thorough in its review and appropriate in its recommendation on progress by the Gorgon Joint Venture (GJV).

The Gorgon CO² separation plant on Barrow Island is complete, with the compression facilities and pipelines for conveying of CO² to the injection wells mostly completed. The department approved an application for conducting pre-injection baseline seismic surveys. In March 2017, the acquisition of baseline seismic data commenced. The Mines and Petroleum Minister’s consent is required under the Petroleum Pipelines Act 1969 in order for injection to commence.