Billions at both ends of the pipeline

The state's biggest oil and gas operators have taken the opportunity to highlight their economic impact at the AOG Energy Conference in Perth this morning.

Woodside Energy will spend $US2 billion on decommissioning work by the end of the decade, the company’s vice-president of Pluto and Scarborough projects, Mike Price, told the conference.

It’s an example of the forecast $40 billion to be spent on decommissioning oil and gas projects in Australia in decades ahead.

Decommissioning is the work required to remove assets from production.

That includes sealing wells and ensuring minimal environmental impact remains at operating sites.

Mr Price said Woodside had already spent $US375 million on decommissioning its Enfield oil operations.

But a substantial amount more will be needed as fields reach the end of their lives.

Among them will be the older fields for the North West Shelf Venture, which are depleting and need to be replaced.

Chevron Australia chief executive Mark Hatfield said the US company had been working to decommission the Thevenard Island oil and gas plant.

The facility, off the coast of Onslow, had been switched off in 2014.

The work has included a contract for Workpower, a disability support and employment provider, to grow and supply 130,000 native seedlings for the island.

The contract was awarded in 2021.

Next on the agenda will be WA Oil, at Barrow Island, which is set to end production in 2025, Mr Hatfield said.

Projects

Investment from the two big oil and gas businesses was not just concentrated at the end of the life cycle, however.

Chevron moved ahead on its $6 billion Jansz-Io Compression Project in mid-2021.

Mr Hatfield said about $2 billion was to be spent locally.

On the list was a deal with Civmec for fabrication, and Mr Hatfield said the Henderson manufacturer had recently started cutting steel for subsea equipment.