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Conservation Council of WA director Jess Beckerling said carbon storage was “fantasy technology” that doesn’t work, citing Chevron’s $3 billion attempt at WA’s Barrow Island, which after eight years works at just one-third of its planned capacity.
“There has never been an offshore carbon dumping project in Australia, but Woodside is proposing to try this failed technology for the first time at the pristine Scott Reef,” she said.
In May, Woodside told the department it would refer carbon storage for assessment in mid-2024, according to meeting minutes released under another freedom of information request.
This would place carbon storage six years behind the rest of Browse in the environmental approval process, although the smaller scope could take less time to assess.
A Woodside spokesman said it was “working to progress an appropriate alternate pathway” to gain federal approval for carbon storage. Unlike other aspects of Browse, carbon storage does not need approval from the WA regulator as it is located outside state waters.
The WA Environmental Protection Authority, which told Woodside in February its preliminary view was that Browse was unacceptable, plans to release its final report in 2025.
Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill wants three problems solved before committing to expensive engineering work required before Browse can go ahead: storing the reservoir CO₂, obtaining environmental approvals and a deal to process the gas into a liquid for export.
Woodside plans to pipe Browse gas 1000 kilometres to the ageing North West Shelf plant near Karratha; however, the two joint ventures have not yet struck a deal despite signing “non-binding preliminary agreements” in 2018.
Six years on, Woodside’s spokesman said the two joint ventures “are in negotiations … to agree key commercial terms”.
Woodside operates the Browse joint venture and has a 31 per cent stake. BP is the largest investor, with 44 per cent, and Japan Australia LNG and PetroChina also have a stake.
According to people familiar with the negotiations but not authorised to speak to the media, Chevron and Shell – both with equity in the North West Shelf but not Browse – are holding out for terms advantageous to the owners of the gas plant rather than the gas fields.
Woodside needs state and federal environmental approvals to extend the life of the North West Shelf plant to 2070 so it can process Browse gas.
The WA Environmental Protection Authority backed the extension in 2022 despite concluding nitrous oxide emissions from the plant “may be a threat of serious or irreversible damage” to the adjacent World Heritage-nominated Murujuga rock art.
The WA Appeals Convenor is expected to soon report on more than 700 appeals lodged against the EPA’s decision.
Woodside makes little mention of Browse in presentations to investors but sells it as a solution to a looming gas shortage in its home state.
“The single biggest opportunity to help meet WA’s domestic gas needs is Browse,” O’Neill said in May.
“It’s really to underpin the WA economy … that’s a key message for us.”
Source Agencies
