Centre of Decommissioning Australia (CODA) has appointed its inaugural supervisory committee to boost its strategic focus and expertise as it tackles the challenges and opportunities of decommissioning Australia’s ageing oil and gas infrastructure.
“The support and input from a group of such experienced and engaged industry leaders will help accelerate CODA’s ability to work across the whole of Australian industry to build our domestic capability to address our own decommissioning needs, as well as position Australia to become a significant partner in the region’s decommissioning work,” said CODA General Manager Decommissioning and Strategy, Dr Francis Norman.
The committee, which will form the heart of CODA’s strategic focus and decision-making, consists of:
• Richard Perry – Decommissioning Manager, ExxonMobil Australia
• David Banks – Chief Technical & Marketing Officer, Santos Ltd
• Jay Southwell – APAC Subsea Services leader, Baker Hughes
• Brian Matthews – Marine, Subsea & Automation Manager, IAS Group
• Ineke Reyboz – Contracts and Commercial Consultant, independent member
• Harvey Johnstone – Environment Director, International Association of Oil & Gas Producers
CODA, established in March, is uniquely positioned to drive collaboration in Australia’s oil and gas industry to collectively answer strategic questions about decommissioning options based on technical, safety and environmental knowledge, government-funded NERA (National Energy Resources Australia) said today in a statement.
CODA’s research shows there is more than A$50 billion ($37.5 billion) of necessary offshore decommissioning work to be done – over half of which is anticipated to be started within the next ten years.
“By applying research from the National Decommissioning Research Initiative, we and our industry partners will ensure Australia’s future decommissioning activity will be built on independent and sound scientific research, providing the best possible outcomes for industry, environment and community,” said Dr Norman.
“Work’s progressing quickly to establish a secure and sustainable future for CODA built on strong, collaborative and trust-based relationships across all the parties who will play a vital role on the decommissioning journey,” he added.
Commenting on his appointment to the new Committee Richard Perry, Decommissioning Manager, ExxonMobil Australia, said “after an extensive history of successful resource development and energy supply across Australia, our national fields are starting to reach the end of their productive life leading to the dawn of a new industry, and with it, some fantastic opportunities.”
“With the broad geographical expanse between major basins in Australia, CODA will be a crucial conduit to enable growth of this industry to be optimised for all parties throughout the supply chain and it is very exciting to be part of this journey,” he added.
CODA has been established to grow capability and capacity to service Australia’s decommissioning needs and capture work in the Asia-Pacific market that could create thousands of jobs and generate billions in economic growth for the nation, said NERA.
As part of this, contracts for CODA foundation phase projects have been recently awarded. Due for delivery in early 2022, these projects will build knowledge and understanding of the local decommissioning and recycling capability, provide Australian industry with an easily accessible digest of international best practice that can be used locally, and set out a pathway for innovation and new technologies for the industry.
Recommended for you
