FEDERAL Resources Minister Martin Ferguson says that safety performance in the offshore petroleum industry needs to be improved urgently.
The Minister’s comments follow the June 2008 gas pipeline explosion at Varanus Island, Western Australia and two maritime safety incidents during Cyclone Billy in December 2008, off the Western Australian coast.
Ferguson released reports on the incidences which were presented at a meeting of the Ministerial Council on Mineral and Petroleum Resources in Darwin.
The main findings in the reports found there were potential gaps in maritime occupational health and safety and a less than optimal interface between NOPSA and AMSA.
The reports also found risk assessment processes needed improvement, better compliance tools were needed and an assessment of safety culture.
The MCMPR would consult with the petroleum industry by the end of November 2009 with a view to introducing appropriate legislative amendments in early-2010.
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