Resources Minister Madeleine King says Woodside Energy is partly to blame for the years-long approval process to extend the life of its gas operations off the West Australian coast for another five decades, a delay that the company’s chief executive Meg O’Neill has described as mind-boggling.

King’s comments came as the federal government, and new Environment Minister Murray Watt, prepares to hand down its decision on the North West Shelf extension. The government has until the end of the month, having extended the deadline for a decision twice this year.