An expert, independent of government and industry, explains how prolonged industrial activity on the Burrup Peninsula in WA endangers an Australian marvel.
WA industry heavyweights, including Alcoa and Wesfarmers, want Woodside to meet its obligation by supplying more gas to the local market from its Pluto project.
“The era of Woodside doing the bare minimum is over,” said Richard Harris, spokesman for the Domgas Alliance of major WA gas users.
“Gas producers have a responsibility to earn and maintain a social licence to operate," he said.
"Woodside must honour its obligations and ensure the benefits of WA’s gas reserves stay in WA, not just flow offshore."
Woodside's Pluto project, which has exported gas since 2012, has supplied less than three per cent of its export volumes to the local market, according to the Alliance.
This is well short of the 15 per cent required under an agreement with the WA government that allowed the project to proceed.
How WA Labor and Woodside have delivered a gas shortage for WA
The blunt call from the Alliance that includes WA's largest gas consumer Alcoa, Wesfarmers, Coogee Chemicals, Norway's Yara, titanium processor Tronox and cement manufacturer Adbri is a rare display of disunity in the normally coordinated and seamless lobbying by WA industry.
In the past, Woodside has argued that it was not commercially viable to install the expensive equipment necessary to remove the high amount of nitrogen in Pluto gas, which makes it unacceptable for the domestic gas system.
Harris said that if the gas cannot be delivered from Pluto, Woodside must supply it from its other projects.
"It’s time for Woodside to step up and ensure Pluto operates in line with community expectations and domestic supply obligations,” he said.
In addition to its 90 per cent stake in Pluto, the Perth-based company owns one-third of the North West Shelf project that on Wednesday won federal approval to operate until 2070, 13 per cent of the Wheatstone gas export project, and a 71 per cent stake in the Macedon domestic gas project.
I worked in oil & gas in commercial and engineering roles for 20 years. Since 2016, I have written for The West Australian, WAtoday and Boiling Cold, winning five WA Media Awards.
An expert, independent of government and industry, explains how prolonged industrial activity on the Burrup Peninsula in WA endangers an Australian marvel.
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Peter Milne
