As part of the contract, Petrofac will deliver phase one of the project, which will see the Northern Endeavour disconnected from the subsea equipment, and temporary suspension of wells.
Minister for Resources and Water Keith Pitt said the Australian Government is delivering on its commitment to keep the Northern Endeavour and its workers safe while protecting the environment.
“Decommissioning the Northern Endeavour is a unique and unprecedented responsibility for the Commonwealth after its owners went into liquidation,” Pitt said.
“We are working closely with industry and regulators to progress decommissioning as safely, efficiently, quickly and cost-effectively as possible.”
Pitt said Petrofac was selected and engaged through a robust global, competitive procurement process. I thank all the respondents for their engagement on this important matter.
The company has extensive global experience in successfully leading and delivering large-scale and complex offshore decommissioning projects.
In December 2020 the Australian Government confirmed that the Northern Endeavour and associated oil fields will be decommissioned to remove potential risks to the environment.
Pitt reported at the time that the government had thoroughly investigated options for the Northern Endeavour and found a decommissioning and remediation process is the most cost-effective way to remove future potential risks to the facility and to ensure protection of the environment.
The government has been responsible for maintaining the Northern Endeavour and associated subsea facilities since February 2020 after its owners, the Northern Oil and Gas Australia (NOGA) group of companies, were placed in liquidation. Northern Endeavour stopped producing oil in 2019.
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