‘Carbon bomb’ gas plant to be extended for decades as Pacific begs for emissions cuts

Environment Minister Murray Watt will reveal the conditions for gas giant Woodside’s 40-year expansion of its North West Shelf project as early as Friday as Pacific leaders meeting in Honiara call on Australia to dramatically cut its emissions to ensure their survival.

In May, Watt gave preliminary approval to Woodside Energy’s bid – comprising a vast network of offshore oil and gas infrastructure and the onshore gas-processing hub in Karratha – until 2070.

The announcement was cheered by the gas industry as recognition that the fuel will be needed for years to underpin Australia’s shift to renewables and the energy security of export partners in Asia.

But it was fiercely opposed by environmental groups. The Climate Council said the decision would lock in more than 4 billion tonnes of climate pollution – equivalent to a decade of Australia’s annual emissions – and would “haunt” the Albanese government.

The Climate Council says the forecast emissions from the North West Shelf project would be higher than New Zealand’s annual output in 2023 of 76.4 million tonnes.

Watt attached what he described as “strict conditions” to his provisional approval, which are expected to include reductions to forecast emissions.

Since then, the government and Woodside have been locked in negotiations over the project.

Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill voiced frustration last month that the oil and gas giant was yet to secure the Albanese government’s final approval to extend the North West Shelf project after months of talks.

O’Neill indicated there were sticking points in Woodside’s negotiations with the federal government on the conditions that might be imposed on the plant’s industrial emissions.

She suggested the government was seeking conditions that were “not based in science” or “technically feasible” and were at odds with the limits imposed by the West Australian government when it signed off on the extension in December.

“We are quite frustrated that we don’t have a final federal approval,” O’Neill said. “We are working very closely with the government and the department, and what we have pointed them to is the WA government’s approval that had been rigorously assessed for more than six years.”

The Woodside Energy-led North West Shelf joint venture in Western Australia – a network of offshore gas-drilling facilities and the Karratha gas-processing plant on the Burrup Peninsula – has been producing liquefied natural gas since the 1980s, but its approvals were due to expire in 2030.

Approving the Karratha gas plant’s extension clears the way for Woodside to progress a $30 billion proposal to develop new offshore gas fields in the Browse Basin, considered the country’s largest untapped conventional gas resource.

The Karratha plant is less than one kilometre away from 50,000-year-old World Heritage-listed Aboriginal rock art, known locally as Murujuga.

A draft UNESCO decision in May showed the organisation had initially intended to deny an Australian bid for the ancient art to be granted world heritage status, due to the impacts of Woodside’s “degrading acidic emissions” on the petroglyphs.

However, lobbying efforts led by Watt paid off, and UNESCO added the Murujuga cultural landscape to its World Heritage List in July.

Murujuga custodian Raelene Cooper last month secured a Federal Court undertaking from Watt that he would provide her with three days’ notice of a decision. That notice was provided this week and stated Watt’s decision would be announced “on or after September 12”.

Watt is also due on Friday to formally respond to a Federal Court “Section 10” application Cooper filed under federal environment laws seeking to compel him to protect Murujuga’s cultural heritage.

“The minister has still not paid us the respect of coming to Murujuga to meet with the custodians of this place and see the incredible Murujuga rock art and the destruction it faces with his own eyes,” Cooper said.

Meanwhile, Pacific leaders gathering in Honiara have raised strong concerns about Australia’s commitment to cutting greenhouse emissions.

Vanuatu Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu told the Australian Financial Review that Woodside’s approval would put Australia in breach of a July ruling by the International Court of Justice that countries could be held liable for the emissions they produce.

“The advisory opinion of the ICJ made it clear that going down the fossil fuel production expansion is an internationally wrongful act,” Regenvanu said.

Dr Wesley Morgan, a Climate Council fellow who is at the Pacific Islands Forum in Honiara, said Australia’s emissions were “a really significant issue” for the forum.

“Australia’s position as a security partner really hinges on Australia’s climate credibility,” he said.

“This has been a source of anger for Pacific countries for a long time that Australia continues to approve massive new fossil fuel projects when Pacific countries are in a fight for their survival ... just announcing that is a real slap in the face for Pacific countries.”

Traditional owner Samantha Walker said the story of Murujuga “is one of devastation”.

“They have prospered, while our people live in poverty on the doorstep of these gas plants. We still live in poverty,” she said.

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