Hon Wilson Tucker questions the Minister for Mines and Petroleum regarding an alleged oil spill at the Varanus Island gas plant. The Department of Mines Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) is currently investigating the incident and is aware of Santos' internal investigation.

AnsweredQoN 1012Legislative Council
Asked
12 September 2023
Portfolio
Mines and Petroleum

QuestionView source ↗

VARANUS ISLAND GAS PLANT — ALLEGED INCIDENT
1012. Hon WILSON TUCKER to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Mines and Petroleum:
I
refer the minister to a document tabled in the Australian Senate by Australian
Capital Territory Senator David Pocock on 16 February 2023 containing a statement
by an alleged whistleblower regarding an oil spill that allegedly took place sometime in March 2022 at the
Varanus Island gas plant, which is located 300 kilometres off the coast of Karratha.
(1) Has the state
government completed an investigation or is it currently carrying out an
investigation into this alleged incident?
(2) If the state
government has completed an investigation into this alleged incident, what were
the findings of that investigation?
(3) Is the state
government aware of an investigation into this alleged incident either
internally by Santos or externally by a third and independent party?
(4) If yes to
(3), does the state government expect to be informed of the findings of this
investigation; and, if so, when?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the member for some notice
of the question. The following answer has been provided to me by the Minister
for Mines and Petroleum.
(1) The
Department of Mines Industry Regulation and Safety is currently carrying out an
investigation into the alleged incident.
(2) The investigation is ongoing.
(3) Yes, DMIRS is aware of an
internal investigation by Santos.
(4) Santos informed DMIRS of the
findings of its internal investigation on 22 March 2023.

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