Woodside seeks feedback on massive Bass Strait decommissioning plan

WOODSIDE Energy has launched a public consultation process to gather feedback on its upcoming strategy to decommission the ageing offshore oil and gas infrastructure in Bass Strait.

The energy giant is seeking input from individuals, community groups, commercial operators, and other stakeholders whose activities or interests may be impacted by the project. All community feedback will be evaluated before the final Environment Plan is submitted to the national offshore regulator NOPSEMA.

Woodside plans to decommission up to 10 lower steel piled jackets (LSPJs) and associated subsea assets including strut footings and well conductor stubs by leaving them in situ (in place) on the ocean floor.

Woodside’s environmental assessments have concluded that leaving the lower jackets in place does not pose an unacceptable risk to commercial maritime users or marine ecosystems

The company has noted that complete physical removal could trigger greater safety risks and severe environmental disturbance. By leaving the structures in place, Woodside claims it will reduce the overall impact to as low as reasonably practicable while strictly adhering to safety standards.

Environmental organisations like the Wilderness Society and Friends of the Earth have heavily condemned the plans to leave thousands of tonnes of steel in the ocean, arguing it constitutes abandoning industrial waste and risks setting a bad regulatory precedent. Although the steel structures have been estimated to take between 300 and 850 years to fully degrade, they have already spent more than five decades in the ocean.

Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) surveys within the area have identified thriving marine communities surrounding the infrastructure. These habitats support diverse sponges and invertebrates, along with more than 55 fish species including silver trevally, jackass morwong, and southern rock lobster.

Australian fur seals and humpback whales, both protected under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) have also been observed nearby.

To minimise potential disruption to commercial trawl fishing, the plan conservatively defines the Environment that May Be Affected (EMBA) as a 500-metre zone around each jacket structure.

Because the proposed decommissioning activities involve no hydrocarbons, traditional chemical or oil spill scenarios have been excluded from the EMBA impact assessment.

Instead, the proposal focuses on alternative environmental impacts, including the long-term physical presence and gradual degradation of the jackets, localised seabed disturbance, and interactions with other marine users.

To mitigate these risks, the proposed controls include formal stakeholder notifications, permanent updates to maritime navigational charts, and an official application for an abandonment sea dumping permit.

This permit will mandate strict monitoring and adaptive management strategies to oversee the condition of the remaining structures and their surrounding ecosystems.

The project faces a dual-layer regulatory approval process. Under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (OPGGS Act) all offshore petroleum activities must secure an Environment Plan accepted by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA).

Stakeholders and community members are encouraged to submit their feedback to ensure local insights and environmental concerns are fully addressed in the final regulatory submission. Feedback specific to the proposed activities can be submitted to feedback@woodside.com or 1800 442 977 by  October 19, 2026.