THE RORT · DOSSIER · OFFSHORE DECOMMISSIONINGSTATUS · LOOMING LIABILITY
The PRRT: named together in 9 articlesThe PRRTWoodside: named together in 7 articlesWoodsideChevron: named together in 6 articlesChevronSantos: named together in 6 articlesSantosAnthony Albanese: named together in 5 articlesAnthony AlbaneseThe ATO: named together in 5 articlesThe ATOINPEX: named together in 5 articlesINPEXShell: named together in 4 articlesShellNOPSEMA: named together in 3 articlesNOPSEMAThe ACCC: named together in 2 articlesThe ACCCKerry Stokes: named together in 2 articlesKerry StokesPM&C: named together in 2 articlesPM&CThe RBA: named together in 2 articlesThe RBAThe Revolving Door: named together in 2 articlesAustralian Banking Association: named together in 1 articleThe Big Four: named together in 1 articleJim Chalmers: named together in 1 articleNews Corp: named together in 1 articleNine: named together in 1 articleOne Nation: 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
2026-10-10
Named in
10 articles
Across
2 cases

Named in 10 articles across 2 cases 22 connections: companies 8, lobbies 1, mechanisms 4, regulators and bodies 3, agencies and departments 2, parties and organisations 1, people 3

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
10
Articles naming it
2
Cases it recurs across
22
Linked in the graph
7
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 →The Inflation Rort22 articles →
Fig. 01Source: article scan · every article naming itAs of 2026‑10‑10Auto-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 said in 2021 that, through PRRT refunds and company income-tax deductibility, the government's share of decommissioning costs for projects that have paid substantial PRRT could reach 58 per cent. This is a possibility IEEFA raised, not a payout recorded to date.Source: IEEFA, March 2021The A$60 billion boomerang: who cleans up the offshore rigs when the gas money is gone →
  4. Set to exceed A$2 billionBoiling Cold reported on 30 September 2026, from published contract information, that the Commonwealth has spent A$1.5 billion on the first of three phases of the Northern Endeavour decommissioning and that the total is set to exceed A$2 billion, paid through the industry levy on offshore oil and gas producers. A June 2025 Baird Maritime column had put the final budget at US$1 billion.Source: Boiling Cold, 30 September 2026; Baird Maritime, June 2025The A$60 billion boomerang: who cleans up the offshore rigs when the gas money is gone →
  5. 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 →
  6. 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 →
  7. 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 2026‑10‑10Auto-assembled

How we know

The sources of the 10 articles that name Offshore Decommissioning, by the tier the desk declared. A source supports its article, not necessarily a claim about Offshore Decommissioning.

Evidence strength · 181 sources across 10 articles
  • Primary 60
  • Official 28
  • Masthead 25
  • Trade 49
  • Aggregator 7
  • 12 not yet graded
Primary
the document itself: legislation, a court record, a filing, a regulator’s own publication
Official
the organisation’s own statement about itself
Masthead
a news organisation with a corrections policy, reporting the primary document
Trade
specialist or trade press
Aggregator
republishes others’ work
How sources are graded

7 of 10 articles are graded on every headline finding. How findings are graded

Fig. 03 / Named together

Offshore DecommissioningThe PRRT: named together in 9 articlesThe PRRT9Woodside: named together in 7 articlesWoodside7Chevron: named together in 6 articlesChevron6Santos: named together in 6 articlesSantos6Anthony Albanese: named together in 5 articlesAnthony Albanese5INPEX: named together in 5 articlesINPEX5The ATO: named together in 5 articlesThe ATO5Shell: named together in 4 articlesShell4NOPSEMA: named together in 3 articlesNOPSEMA3Kerry Stokes: named together in 2 articlesKerry Stokes2PM&C: named together in 2 articlesPM&C2The ACCC: named together in 2 articlesThe ACCC2
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 2026‑10‑10Auto-assembled

02 / Connected in the graph

Companies 8
WoodsideCOMPANY · GAS · 7SantosCOMPANY · GAS · 6ChevronCOMPANY · GAS · 6INPEXCOMPANY · GAS · 5ShellCOMPANY · GAS · 4News CorpCOMPANY · MEDIA · 1NineCOMPANY · MEDIA · 1Seven West MediaCOMPANY · MEDIA · 1
Lobbies 1
Australian Banking AssociationLOBBY · BANKING INDUSTRY GROUP · 1
Mechanisms 4
The PRRTMECHANISM · TAX · 9The Revolving DoorMECHANISM · 2The Big FourMECHANISM · CONSULTANCY · 1Regulatory CaptureMECHANISM · 1
Regulators & bodies 3
NOPSEMAFEDERAL REGULATOR · 3The ACCCFEDERAL REGULATOR · 2The RBAFEDERAL REGULATOR · 2
Agencies & departments 2
The ATOACTOR · AGENCY · 5PM&CACTOR · DEPARTMENT · 2
Parties & organisations 1
One NationPOLITICAL PARTY · 1
People 3
Anthony AlbanesePERSON · POLITICIAN · 5Kerry StokesPERSON · MAGNATE · 2Jim ChalmersPERSON · TREASURER · 1

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. Under How we know, the sources are those articles' references, counted once each and tiered only where the desk declared a tier; a grade beside an article is its weakest headline finding, shown only where every headline finding is graded. The page is rebuilt when an article is published or changed.

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