The revelation followed days of confusion over whether DWER had jurisdiction over the offshore facility. The satellite, Tanager-1, has recorded five methane plumes near Gorgon's acid gas removal units since November 2025. The most recent reading logged 7.8 tonnes of methane per hour, the highest of any site in Western Australia.
Methane is about 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide over 100 years, and the UN had warned Chevron about its emissions in July 2025 and again in August 2026. Chevron told the ABC it was corresponding with the UN, but did not formally respond to the alerts.
WA Greens MLC Sophie McNeill criticised the regulator's delayed response. 'It's embarrassing that DWER was not monitoring these emissions and remains noncommittal after they came to light,' she said. 'We know this Labor government has never fined gas companies for these kinds of unauthorised leaks. This incident proves the whole system needs to be overhauled.'
The federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) defended its position during Senate Estimates. Hew Atkin, head of the gas and liquid fuels division, said oversight of emissions was a state matter. Independent senator David Pocock questioned the Commonwealth's lack of involvement. 'How on earth is this program going to be successful if we don't know about a reportedly massive, unexplained release of methane over the last year or so?' he said.
The Gorgon plant has a capacity of 15.6 million tonnes of LNG per year and exports all of its production except about 300 terajoules reserved for the domestic market. Chevron has plans to extend production for another 40 years with a subsea compression station. Australia's emissions reduction target is 43% below 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero by 2050. According to the UN's International Methane Emissions Observatory, Australia hosts two of the world's top-35 methane emitters.