Supreme Court rules against Apache

Apache Energy has failed in its bid to secure an injunction from the Supreme Court preventing Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore from viewing a report into last year's Varanus Island gas explosion.

However, the court ruled that Mr Moore would not be able to publish the report without Apache first reviewing and responding to it.

At a hearing in June in the Supreme Court, Apache had claimed that in compiling the investigation report, Kym Bills and David Agostini and the WA government had "breached a duty to afford procedural fairness" to the company.

The claim stems from the preparation of a state investigation report into the June 3 2008 Varanus Island gas explosion, which cut WA's gas supply by a third and wreaked havoc on industry.

The initial investigation, which was released to the public late last year, found the immediate cause of the incident was the rupture of a gas pipeline that was thinning out due to corrosion.

The report said that Apache and its co-licensees may have breached regulations.

In May, Mr Moore announced the department would carry out the final stage of investigations into the Varanus Island incident and appointed Messrs Bills and Agostini to compile the report.

During the month, Apache's solicitors wrote to the defendants to seek confirmation that they would afford the company procedural fairness in the preparation of the report, in particular to review and comment on the report before it was sent to Mr Moore.

However that was denied, with the defendants' solicitors saying they were not under any obligation.

The report was completed in June however, it had not been released as it was awaiting on the Supreme Court's ruling.

Today, Justice Andrew Beech ruled there was no duty of procedural fairness on Messrs Bills and Agostini or the state in the preparation and provision to the minister of the investigation report.

"That is because that conduct, in itself, does not sufficiently affect any rights or interests of the Apache companies," he said in the judgement today.

However any decision by Mr Moore to publish the report would "attract a duty of procedural fairness to the Apache companies".

"Any decision by the Minister in relation to any oil and gas interests or potential interests of the Apache companies to which the Adverse Contents of the Investigation Report are relevant would attract a duty of procedural fairness," Justice Beech said.

In an emailed statement to WA Business News, Apache said it is continuing to seek an opportunity to read and comment on the report before it is presented to the minister, and will pursue an appeal expeditiously.