Overview
- Auditors from the commonwealth and Western Australia have begun reviewing Chevron’s decommissioning expense claims to determine the precise refund owed under the 1985 royalty scheme.
- Preliminary figures indicate taxpayers will contribute $387 million at the federal level and $129 million at the state level toward Chevron’s cleanup costs.
- Cleanup efforts include capping roughly 900 wells, remediating 16 hydrocarbon-contaminated sites and investigating reported subsurface gas migration.
- Under the 1985 legislation, Chevron is entitled to a refund equal to 40% of its decommissioning spending, reversing the royalty formula used during 60 years of production.
- Total decommissioning and rehabilitation expenses are projected to exceed $2.3 billion, with Chevron responsible for the majority of costs outside the rebate period.