THE RORT · DOSSIER · OFFSHORE DECOMMISSIONINGSTATUS · LOOMING LIABILITY
The PRRT: named together in 8 articlesThe PRRTChevron: named together in 6 articlesChevronWoodside: named together in 6 articlesWoodsideSantos: named together in 5 articlesSantosAnthony Albanese: named together in 4 articlesAnthony AlbaneseThe ATO: named together in 4 articlesThe ATOINPEX: named together in 4 articlesINPEXShell: named together in 4 articlesShellNOPSEMA: named together in 3 articlesNOPSEMAKerry Stokes: named together in 2 articlesKerry StokesThe Revolving Door: named together in 2 articlesThe Revolving DoorNews Corp: named together in 1 articleNews CorpNine: named together in 1 articleNinePM&C: named together in 1 articleRegulatory Capture: named together in 1 articleSeven West Media: named together in 1 article
DOSSIER / MECHANISMMECHANISM · LIABILITY

Offshore Decommissioning

Status Looming liability

The multi-billion-dollar job of removing Australia's offshore gas infrastructure. Tax-deductible, left under-secured, and, when an operator fails, a bill the public backstops.

Last on record
2026-08
Named in
8 articles
Across
1 case

Named in 8 articles across 1 case 16 connections: companies 8, mechanisms 3, regulators and bodies 1, agencies and departments 2, people 2

Key figure on file
A$60–66 billion
Estimated decommissioning liability for Australia’s offshore gas sector. Analysts estimate taxpayers could face 60 to 70 per cent of that cost. Industry estimates
8
Articles naming it
1
Cases it recurs across
16
Linked in the graph
6
Figures on file

Fig. 01 / Where this name appears

Australia's Gas HeistA$60–66 billionEstimated decommissioning liability for Australia’s offshore gas sector. Analysts estimate taxpayers could face 60 to 70 per cent of that cost.8 articles →
Fig. 01Source: article scan · every article naming itAs of 2026‑08Auto-assembled

Fig. 02 / On the record

  1. A$60–66 billionEstimated decommissioning liability for Australia’s offshore gas sector. Analysts estimate taxpayers could face 60 to 70 per cent of that cost.Source: Industry estimatesBeer, HECS, and the broken tax →
  2. Dismissed 7 August 2026On 7 August 2026 the Federal Court dismissed The Wilderness Society v NOPSEMA (NSD1342/2025, Justice Abraham, heard 7 April 2026) and ordered the applicant to pay both respondents' costs. The reasons, [2026] FCA 1082, hold that section 571(2) and regulation 16 "focus on the petroleum activity the subject of the environment plan", and that "decommissioning costs did not fall within the financial assurance provisions for the purposes of deciding whether to accept the Reindeer EP".Source: Wilderness Society Ltd v NOPSEMA [2026] FCA 1082 at [100], [104] and [106]The A$60 billion boomerang: who cleans up the offshore rigs when the gas money is gone →
  3. Up to 58% government shareIEEFA modelling finds that through refundable PRRT closing-down credits and income-tax deductions, the government's effective share of some offshore projects' decommissioning costs could reach around 58 per cent. This is a modelled estimate, not a payout recorded to date.Source: IEEFA / ACCR analysisThe A$60 billion boomerang: who cleans up the offshore rigs when the gas money is gone →
  4. A$1.5 billion downgrade over four yearsMYEFO 2025-26 cut projected PRRT revenue by A$1.5 billion over four years, in part due to an increase in credits for decommissioning expenditure.Source: MYEFO 2025-26, as recorded in the committee report, 7 May 2026The inquiry that couldn't agree →
  5. About A$60 billion clean-up billTitleholders are estimated to spend on the order of A$60 billion decommissioning offshore infrastructure over the next 30 to 50 years, the cost the growing PRRT credits are set against.Source: Australia's Offshore Resources Decommissioning Roadmap, industry.gov.auThe inquiry that couldn't agree →
  6. A$66.8bnInflation-adjusted decommissioning liability to 2070 for Australia’s offshore oil and gas sector. IEEFA found taxpayers could bear up to 58 per cent of such costsSource: Department of Industry, Science and Resources, November 2025; IEEFAWho profits →
Fig. 02Source: figures on file for this name, each tied to the article it came fromAs of 2026‑08Auto-assembled

Fig. 03 / Named together

Offshore DecommissioningThe PRRT: named together in 8 articlesThe PRRT8Chevron: named together in 6 articlesChevron6Woodside: named together in 6 articlesWoodside6Santos: named together in 5 articlesSantos5Anthony Albanese: named together in 4 articlesAnthony Albanese4INPEX: named together in 4 articlesINPEX4Shell: named together in 4 articlesShell4The ATO: named together in 4 articlesThe ATO4NOPSEMA: named together in 3 articlesNOPSEMA3Kerry Stokes: named together in 2 articlesKerry Stokes2The Revolving Door: named together in 2 articlesThe Revolving Door2News Corp: named together in 1 articleNews Corp1
The 12 names most often in the same articles as Offshore Decommissioning. A line's weight, and the number by each name, is how many articles name both. Grey chords join the neighbours most often named together themselves (two articles or more). Circles are people and organisations, squares are mechanisms. Named together is all this shows: it is not a finding about what the relationship is.
Fig. 03Source: article scan · articles naming bothAs of 2026‑08Auto-assembled

How this page is assembled. The name, status and role are the desk's entity record. The article list, case counts, connections and the figures under On the record are read by script from the published articles that name Offshore Decommissioning: the desk's key figures where it declared them, otherwise figures harvested from those articles. A connection is a name that appears in the same articles; it is not a finding about the relationship. The page is rebuilt when an article is published or changed.

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