Australian agency budget puts unwonted burden on contractors

摘要

Australian Offshore Regulatory Authority (Canberra) - After two years in development, the new federal National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority (NOPSA) and its industry-funded annual budget were announced by the Australian Government for launch 1 January 2005. IADC has expressed opposition to drilling contractors' share of the "cost recovery" scheme for the total NOPSA budget. In a meeting in Washington with John Hartwell, Head of Division in charge of the NOPSA implementation process, IADC Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Brian T Petty pointed out that IADC wasn't sufficiently involved in the consultation process leading up to the announcement of the funding scheme, and that the result is unfair to drilling contractors who'll bear a disproportionate cost burden relative to the oil companies operating offshore Australia, Mr Hartwell formally replied after returning home "In relation to the points you raise about the consultation processes, I acknowledge your concern that your members' interests may not have been fully met in the dialogue we have had with the industry. From our perspective, we consulted closely with the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, (APPEA), on this issue. I acknowledge that the rig owners are members of APPEA, albeit Associate Members only, and to ensure your members' views are heard, I have asked my staff to ensure effective consultation is established and maintained directly with IADC, as NOPSA moves forward.