A bit of a mixed bag this week – with the obviously gas reservations scheme arguments rumbling on as ever – but it would be remiss of me not to mention one of the most seismic shifts in recent years in the energy sector.

On Wednesday, at the start of the new financial year, Woodside officially took over the reins of the Bass Strait from their joint venture partner Esso.

Henceforth the assets – including the Gippsland Basin JV (GBJV), Kipper Unit JV (KUJV), the Longford gas plant and Long Island Point processing facility – are now under the Woodside umbrella, meaning not only will their operating systems, governance and technical know-how be front and centre but many former Esso/Exxon employees will find themselves marching to the beat of Liz Westcott's drum. It'll be interesting to see how they fare moving from an overtly American institution to an Australian one.

The Gippsland Basin has been Australia's biggest and oldest source of domestic gas since the 1960s when it began producing LNG with BHP with Woodside's involvement dating back to 2022 when it bought BHP's global petroleum division.

And while Woodside will no doubt be looking to continue the region's profitable productivity – and has already announced plans for five new wells - the swap in operatorship means it'll be Woodside who's at the coalface throughout the mammoth decommissioning project on the horizon.

The arrival next year of the world's biggest construction vessel – the Pioneering Spirit – will no doubt be a photogenic moment to behold but it will also mark moment when Woodside's teams will really start rolling up their sleeves. Certainly one to watch.

Another one which falls into that camp is the arrival on to the national energy/environmental stage of John Bradley – the inaugural CEO of the new National Environmental Protection Agency.

While long in the planning, the formal launch of the new watchdog on Wednesday is another pivotal moment for the sector with the government promising the "modern and effective regulator" will "speed up the approval of critical housing, energy and minerals projects."

While industry will be hoping that's the case, the environmental lobby will be watching closely to see that their interests are met. It's a hard – some might say unenviable - task to satisfy both camps so it will be interesting to see how Bradley addresses the challenges that undoubtedly lie ahead.

Yours,

Russell Yeo

Editor Energy News Bulletin

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