Woodside sold the project to an insubstantial company to avoid a few hundred million in decommissioning costs: now it and its competitors will pay the price.
Scientists warn Woodside’s plan to develop the Browse basin off WA could damage the Scott Reef ecosystem and endangered green turtles. Image: Wendy Mitchell/Greenpeace
Woodside Energy’s plan to drill for gas off Western Australia’s north-west coast could significantly damage “exceptional” coral reefs, and it may be impossible to reduce the risk of an oil spill to an acceptable level, according to advice from the state’s independent environmental watchdog.
...
Boiling Cold investigations are sometimes published elsewhere to increase readership and maximise the impact of the journalism.
The internal WA EPA documents behind the exclusive Guardian story were obtained by Boiling Cold.
They reveal in detail the EPA's wide-ranging conclusions about Woodside's Browse project reached after five years of assessment that led it to a preliminary view that the project was environmentally unacceptable on multiple grounds.
Briefing note to the WA EPA Board for a meeting on 14 December 2023
Draft letter to Woodside presented to the WA EPA board on 14 December 2023 detailing its concerns about Browse
WA EPA response to an FOI query showing it sent a letter on 7 February 2024 telling Woodside that its preliminary view was that Browse was unacceptable
I worked in oil & gas in commercial and engineering roles for 20 years. Since 2016, I have written for The West Australian, WAtoday, The Guardian and Boiling Cold, winning five WA Media Awards.
Woodside sold the project to an insubstantial company to avoid a few hundred million in decommissioning costs: now it and its competitors will pay the price.
WA Premier Mark McGowan warned Alcoa to lift its game or face curtailed mining, but his successor Roger Cook slashed water supply protections after a possibly empty threat from the US miner.
Peter Milne
