Arabic version: الحكومة تموّل أعمال السلامة في منصة كليف هيد المهجورة

According to ABC News, the federal government will fund work to keep the abandoned Cliff Head oil platform off Western Australia in a safe condition after its owners, Pilot Energy and Triangle Energy, collapsed in July.

The platform, near Dongara and 350 kilometres north of Perth, has been mothballed since the companies’ collapse. Local fishers have raised concerns about potential effects on nearby crayfishing grounds and sought clarity over responsibility for decommissioning the platform and surrounding pipelines.

Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King signed a ministerial instrument last week authorising taxpayer funding to stabilise the rig. Her office said it would be unacceptable to wait for the insolvency process to finish, and said all government costs would be recovered from industry rather than borne by taxpayers.

Cliff Head has operated since 2006. Australian law requires offshore oil and gas operators to remove property and infrastructure when operations end. In 2020, the government assumed responsibility for decommissioning and remediating the Northern Endeavour oil production vessel after its owner entered liquidation; that work is continuing and costs run into the hundreds of millions.

Conservation Council executive director Matt Roberts said the intervention showed the need for stronger company obligations and transparency. A 2025 government-backed report estimated Cliff Head’s decommissioning could cost $200 million, while oil and gas decommissioning nationally has been estimated at $60 billion over the next 30 to 50 years.