The State Government today announced a joint inquiry with the Commonwealth into the Varanus Island gas disaster.
The expert panel inquiry is expected to report by April 2009. It will focus on the effectiveness of the regulatory system and the regulators for upstream petroleum operations and recommend improvements to the existing system.
The inquiry will also investigate the occupational health and safety regime at the Varanus Island facility at the time of the explosion and consider its implications for the resource sector in Western Australia and other state and territory jurisdictions.
"The gas pipeline explosion at Varanus Island on June 3, 2008, has raised questions about the effectiveness of the current regulatory system and the implications this may have for occupational health and safety," Mr Barnett said.
"The previous inquiry was limited in scope to the immediate physical causes of the pipeline explosion. It did not investigate other issues which need to be addressed to ensure WA is not again faced with a shortage of gas should such an incident re-occur.
"There is a clear need for a further inquiry to look at the regulators and regulatory system and see what part, if any, they played in the Varanus incident and to identify ways in which any future crisis can be avoided or at least handled more effectively."
Mr Barnett said a joint State-Commonwealth investigation was required due to the complex nature of the relationship between Department of Industry and Resources and the National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority (NOPSA) in regulating the Varanus Island facility.
It is proposed that a two-member expert panel, comprising people highly qualified in safety regulation theory and experienced in the area of petroleum-pipeline safety, will lead the new inquiry. The Commonwealth will fund the inquiry which is estimated to cost $650,000.
That panel will be jointly appointed by WA's Minister for Mines and Petroleum, Norman Moore, and Federal Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson.
Project management, office accommodation and corporate services for the expert panel and executive and secretarial support staff will be provided by DoIR and the Commonwealth Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism.
It is anticipated that the proposed Inquiry will encompass the following legislation, and any supporting legislative instruments, including regulations and guidelines:
. Petroleum Pipelines Act 1969;
. Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1982; and
. Offshore Petroleum Act 2006.
The Premier said that both Mr Moore and Mr Ferguson would refer the final report to the Ministerial Council on Mineral and Petroleum Resources (MCMPR) for implementation of relevant recommendations.
Mr Moore, Mr Ferguson and their relevant departments are currently finalising exact terms of reference and the appointment of the two experts to head the inquiry.
Premier's office - 9222 9475
Office of the Minister for Mines and Petroleum - 9422 3000
