The Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Act 2010 was passed in April 2010 and gives the CER significant new functions in the areas of petroleum exploration and extraction safety. Specifically the CER now has the responsibility to regulate petroleum undertakings with respect to safety.
The main objective of the CER under the 2010 Act is to protect the public by fostering and encouraging safety with respect to the carrying on of petroleum activities. In discharging this new responsiblity the CER is required to establish and implement a risk based Petroleum Safety Framework. The Petroleum Safety Framework will describe the system the CER will use to regulate the safety of petroleum undertakings and what activities and infrastructure will be subject to our regulation. It will also describe how safety will be regulated for each stage of the lifecycle of petroleum infrastructure (that is, design, construction, operation, maintenance, modification and decommissioning).
Since the 2010 Act was passed, the CER has created a project team to manage the design and implementation of the new Petroleum Safety Framework. The formal title of the project is the Petroleum Safety Framework Implementation Project. The CER will undertake the project in an open and transparent manner, underpinned by a fully consultative approach. The Petroleum Safety section of the CER website is the primary mechanism the CER will use to provide the public with easy access to information relating to the Project including:
- The project implementation plan and regular project status updates;
- Correspondence relating to the project received from (or issued to) petroleum undertakings and the general public;
- Minutes of CER project meetings with petroleum undertakings and the general public; and
- All other relevant project documentation, such as consultation responses, information papers and reports, decision papers etc.
This section of the site will be updated regularly. However if you are interested in the latest developments of the project, you are strongly encouraged to subscribe to the CER's safety mailing list.