Woodside fumes over six-year wait for extension permit
Gas giant Woodside has hit out at the federal government’s decision to postpone a critical assessment of its bid to extend the life of its North West Shelf operations, saying regulatory uncertainty is deterring investments needed to avert an energy crisis in Victoria and NSW.
Woodside, the nation’s largest oil and gas producer, voiced frustration on Tuesday at ongoing delays holding up its application to allow its 40-year-old natural gas development in the north-west of Western Australia to continue operating until 2070 after the federal environment department pushed back a deadline for a decision.
Woodside’s Karratha Gas Plant.
The company first submitted the application at a state level more than six years ago, before gaining approval in December, Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill said. It now needs to undergo a federal government assessment, which has been delayed.
“We are pretty frustrated,” O’Neill said. “Red and green tape is slowing down business investment in Australia and creating additional sovereign risk – and I think this is a great example.”
The proposal to extend the Woodside-operated North West Shelf joint venture, which supplies gas to customers in Western Australia and ships liquefied natural gas (LNG) overseas, is staunchly opposed by climate advocates and other campaigners who are worried about the impact on the environment and global warming. The plan is also opposed because of fears that releasing additional industrial emissions may present a risk to 50,000-year-old Indigenous cultural heritage in the region, the Murujuga rock art
Mardudhunera woman Raelene Cooper, former chair of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, said the Burrup Peninsula, known as Murujuga to traditional owners, contained the largest, oldest collection of Aboriginal rock art in the world and was sacred to her people. “This is a massive decision for [Environment] Minister [Tanya] Plibersek. Huge,” she said.
Nominated for a World Heritage listing, Murujuga was among “one of the world’s greatest artistic treasures,” added Mark Ogge, principal adviser at progressive think tank The Australia Institute. “It is eight times as ancient as the pyramids in Egypt and Stonehenge, and at least as important.”
O’Neill said on Tuesday Woodside’s proposal would not expand the North West Shelf’s footprint nor cause any “additional impact on the natural environment”. Having already gained clearance from the state’s environment minister, O’Neill said the further delays in the project’s federal permitting process underscored the challenging regulatory environment facing oil and gas developers in Australia, despite the fact they were being urged to drill for more gas to prevent a looming domestic shortfall.
“The fact that it continues to get delayed is concerning for us as we think about the investment environment here in Australia,” she said. “It’s hard going.”
