The LinkedIn post which received the most impressions in 2025 was regarding the news that Australia's offshore energy regulator had halted Santos' drilling campaign at the Barossa gas field over concerns regarding the safety of drilling equipment. The prohibition notice issued by NOPSEMA came after inspectors identified issues with the blowout preventer (BOP) system, which was prompted by safety concerns on the Valaris Limited MS-1 platform.
Second in our list was a simple video story based on some stunning footage of one of Woodside's LNG tanks in Karratha being dismantled.
You guys sure love watching the big toys do their thing.
In at number three was the news that Woodside Energy's application to extend the life of its North West Shelf project had cleared three major environmental hurdles as the new environment minister Murray Watt declined requests from Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Conservation Council of WA and Environmental Justice Australia to re-assess the project.
The fourth most impressions was driven by our second day of rolling news coverage of the efforts led by the heavyweight consortium ADNOC's XRG, Abu Dhabi's ADQ and Carlyle which of course had launched a $32 billion takeover tilt for Santos — offering a 28% premium and catching the market off guard. At the time, the "final non-binding indicative" offer signalled a renewed Middle Eastern push into Australian energy, and pointed to one of the sector's biggest shake-ups in years.
The story which got the fifth most impressions in 2025 on LinkedIn was a recent one – a video-based story showing what happened when a rig was dropped during installation as part of Shell's Crux project. The unions have complained and an investigation has been launched by NOPSEMA.
Next in our top ten is our in-depth interview with Shell whistleblower Irina Woodhead, who claimed the offshore regulator NOPSEMA failed to properly investigate a 2021 power failure at the Prelude floating LNG facility. Woodhead, a former Shell safety engineer, says NOPSEMA's report ignored key findings from Shell's own internal probe—despite the incident knocking out critical systems.
News of the government kicking off their search for a company to decommission, plug and abandon the nine wells the Northern Endeavour was the story with the next highest amount of impressions on LinkedIn. The announcement came from the government just as the FPSO was preparing to leave the Timor Sea enroute to eventual disassembly.
Another story which did well in terms of LinkedIn impressions was news that, just days after ExxonMobil called time on its Australian operations, New Zealand scrapped its ban on oil and gas exploration in a bid to lure energy heavyweights back — hoping to head off a looming energy crunch that threatens blackouts and business shutdowns.
Eighth in our chart was our coverage of comments from Chevron CEO Mike Wirth who fired something of a warning shot at Australia, saying shifting rules and rising labour costs are deterring new investment. Despite Chevron's 70-year presence and its role as a major WA gas supplier, Wirth says shocked Australia by saying the his firm had "no plans" to expand further here, pointing instead to easier growth in the US and Middle East. With ExxonMobil also retreating, his words prompted global majors to question whether Australia's regulatory environment is undermining its competitiveness against LNG rivals like Qatar and the US.
Ninth in our LinkedIn charts was the story regarding Beach Energy entering Queensland's Taroom Trough for its first push into unconventional gas — a strategic move aimed at strengthening east coast supply as market tightness looms. Having signed a new Area of Mutual Interest (AMI) agreement with Omega Oil and Gas Limited (45% and operator) and Tri-Star Group (30%), Beach announced it would explore about 3,750 sq km of prospective acreage in the underexplored Taroom Trough — a potential new liquids-rich gas province located near existing pipelines.
Rounding out our list is mention - perhaps not that surprisingly – of the North West Shelf, with the news that the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority has decided to accept Woodside Energy's amendments to its planned Browse to North aWestShelf Development. This development came after the EPA had opened up the amendments to public consultation earlier this year and received more than 17,700 submissions.
