After six years of reviews and delays, Australia’s federal government has approved a proposal that would see the operating life of its biggest and oldest LNG plant extended to 2070.
Murray Watt, Australia’s Minister for the Environment and Water, said on Wednesday that he has decided to approve the extension of the life of the North West Shelf gas processing plant in Karratha, Western Australia, subject to strict conditions, “particularly relating to the impact of air emissions levels from the operation of an expanded on-shore Karratha gas plant.”
The project’s operator, Australia’s top gas producer Woodside, first proposed the extension of the operating life of the North West Shelf Project back in 2018. State and federal governments have been reviewing the plans to extend the life beyond 2030, as it was originally planned, amid hundreds of appeals by activists campaigning to preserve the environment and the cultural heritage of the local people.
Woodside received the Western Australia state government approval in December 2024 after six years of assessment and appeals.
Extending the environmental consent for the project, which began producing gas in 1984, means that Woodside and its partners in the project could continue to deliver gas using existing infrastructure.
“This proposed approval will secure the ongoing operation of the North West Shelf and the thousands of direct and indirect jobs that it supports,” said Liz Westcott, Woodside Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Australia.
As part of the State Government approval in December 2024, the North West Shelf committed to a range of environmental management measures, including a significant reduction in air emissions and measures to manage greenhouse gas emissions and to reduce them over time, Woodside noted.
Energy companies operating in Australia are looking to boost domestic gas output as supply in major consuming areas is often strained at peak demand periods.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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