Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has reopened public consultation for Woodside Energy Group Ltd’s A$30 billion Browse joint venture following a revised development application from the company.
The Browse project, considered Australia’s largest untapped conventional gas resource, has faced strong opposition from environmental groups concerned about its potential impact on the ecologically significant Scott Reef. Woodside has now proposed reducing the project’s footprint to avoid overlapping heritage-listed reef areas.
In a statement, EPA chair Darren Walsh said the agency’s decision to reopen submissions reflected the volume and complexity of information provided by Woodside in its amendments. “Public consultation on a proposed amendment is not usual process for the EPA, but we believe that in this case the circumstances warrant it,” Walsh said. “We think a four-week public review of this latest proposed amendment is appropriate for such a complex assessment of multiple environmental factors across a very sensitive project area.”
The company’s revised proposal includes relocating drilling infrastructure away from green sea turtle habitats and integrating new technology to mitigate well blowout risks. However, critics remain unconvinced.
Woodside says revisions are not "cosmetic"
Conservation Council of Western Australia campaigns director Mia Peppers said the revisions were cosmetic. “For us when you look at the detail, it looks to us like tinkering around the edges of a project that fundamentally poses unacceptable threats to nature,” she told ABC Radio Perth.
Despite shareholder discontent at its recent annual general meeting, Woodside maintains its position on the strategic role of gas. Woodside Energy CEO Meg O’Neill argues gas is a “natural partner for renewables.”
In a statement, a Woodside spokesperson said: “This work has informed the amendments to the proposal, which demonstrate our commitment to further avoid and minimise potential environmental impacts from the proposed development.”
The Browse project is contingent on federal approval of the extension to the North West Shelf project. A decision is expected by 31 May from new federal environment minister Murray Watt.