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.
Most gas in Western Australia is produced offshore and exported as LNG, with some reserved for domestic use. Production from the onshore Perth Basin is increasing. WA is the most gas-dependent state in Australia.
Two of the biggest players in WA’s gas-propelled economy, Woodside Petroleum and Alcoa, are starting to look to renewables to slash their gas use as doubts rise about how big a role the fossil fuel will play in the transition to clean energy.
A rig has arrived off the North West to drill the first of two wells for Quadrant Energy which potential investors will monitor closely in coming months.
It has been a long, convoluted journey for Canadian company ATCO to own Perth’s gas distribution network, build dongas in Kwinana and research solar-generated hydrogen.
Buck-passing between oil giants over who pays for the upkeep of the ageing North West Shelf LNG plant has emerged as the biggest hurdle to Woodside sending its Browse gas to the facility.
From the outset, Norway planned to maximise the long term benefit it gained from its oil and gas, unlike Australian politicians who are content with crumbs from the table.
