Cox calls out oil and gas giant over toxic leak

Greens Senator Dorinda Cox has called for Shell’s Prelude LNG licence to be revoked after the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority issued a warning to the oil and gas giant after an inspection of its facility revealed workers were being exposed to hazardous, cancer-causing gases.

The NOPSEMA issued an Improvement Notice informing Shell they believed it had been ignoring health risks for years.

It is alleged a number of hazardous gases were not being safely vented, causing toxic fume build-up and danger to workers.

“Worker safety should be NOPSEMA’s top priority,” Senator Cox, a proud Noongar woman and Indigenous affairs spokesperson for the Greens, said.

“Yet they have allowed Shell to operate Prelude LNG in breach of basic safety standards for years.

“Issuing a warning at this stage – after repeated failures – is reckless and dangerous. This proponent must be shut down, and Shell’s license revoked before a tragedy occurs.”

Senator Cox said NOPSEMA has the power to shut Prelude down.

“They can revoke Shell’s license, withdraw approvals, and pursue civil and criminal prosecutions,” she said.

“Instead, they’re sitting on their hands while workers’ lives are put at risk.”