Approval for North West Shelf extension opens the door for $30bn Browse project
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek must now decide whether to endorse the extension, alienating environmentalists, or overrule it which will inflame ties between the resource sector and Labor.
Woodside has secured a green light from the WA state environmental department for its North West Shelf Project extension, securing the future of the company’s LNG processing facility and moving the controversial $30bn Browse development one step closer.
The decision, which has taken six years, is a major boost to the company but it must now go to the federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek for an all clear. Ms Plibersek’s decision will be closely watched as evidence of Labor’s commitment to the resource sector despite the pressure she is likely to face from environmentalists.
Woodside’s executive vice-president and chief operating officer Australia, Liz Westcott, said the decision of the WA government was a critical step in underpinning the ongoing operation of the North West Shelf Project.
“This year we are celebrating 40 years of domestic gas production from the Karratha gas plant and 35 years of LNG exports – a contribution to reliable energy supply which can continue for years to come,” she said.
“We look forward to the finalisation of the federal approval process to provide certainty around the ongoing operation of the North West Shelf Project.
“By using existing infrastructure, the project can continue to support local and global energy security and regional development opportunities in the Pilbara in northern Western Australia.
“We are committed to ensuring we continue to meet all environmental requirements, including the conditions of this approval, and engage in meaningful consultation with traditional owners regarding our activities.”
While the decision safeguards the future of Woodside’s Karratha LNG facility, it by no means cements the $30bn Browse LNG project, backed by BP, Mitsui, Mitsubishi and PetroChina.
The same WA environmental department earlier this year indicated it opposed the Browse department, and that it posed an “unacceptable risk”.
Woodside has said it continues to engage with the regulator and hopes to secure approvals.
A green light for Browse would be a lightning rod for environmentalists, whom greeted the WA state government decision on Thursday with fury.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific chief executive David Ritter said the decision was a “kick in the guts” and a “slap in the face of Western Australians”. Mr Ritter said Ms Plibersek must reject the Woodside extension.
“By waving through one of the most climate-wrecking and polluting fossil fuel projects in the country, despite a record number of appeals, Minister Whitby has revealed how broken WA’s environmental laws are,” Mr Ritter said.
“Our world is on a knife edge. The future of everything we care about is at stake in decisions like this one.
“We need our decision makers to put the safety of people and the health of the natural world ahead of the profits of massive polluting corporations like Woodside.”
The decision threatens to split the federal Labor government, although it is unclear whether a final outcome will be announced before the election.
WA-based federal Resources Minister Madeleine King is a strong supporter of gas, while Ms Plibersek has shown she will not endanger native wildlife in favour of fossil fuel projects.
In a bid to win favour, Woodside and other gas developers have sought to frame the debate around Australian energy security as the country’s eastern seaboard is expected to endure a supply shortage as soon as 2026, although the economically damaging shortfall is expected from 2027.
But Browse is a WA project, and so the benefit for Australia’s eastern seaboard would likely be felt only if the region were forced to rely on LNG imports. If that occurs – and the east coast is increasingly certain it will – Woodside could provide shipments during peak winter and summer periods when demand for gas grows.
The majority of Browse’s supplies would, however, be destined for Asia – which is increasingly reliant on Australia. Asia, one of the world’s largest coal users, is likely to rely on LNG for decades to come as it has insufficient renewable resources – unlike in Australia.
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