Santos is battling blocked heat exchangers, failed subsea valves, and faulty safety doors 285km north of Darwin so it can reap the reward of high gas prices in Asia.
The Woodside-operated North West Shelf project near Karratha exported Australia's first LNG cargo in 1989 and now has four gas export trains and a domestic gas plant.
In 2024 and 2025, respectively, the WA and Federal governments approved its operation until 2070.
As Asia scrambles for gas, another Australian gas export plant is out of action, and the WA Government monitors the situation to ensure sufficient fuel for the state.
An expert, independent of government and industry, explains how prolonged industrial activity on the Burrup Peninsula in WA endangers an Australian marvel.
If Woodside absorbs BHP's oil & gas assets new laws ensure the massive decommissioning liability falls to one of the companies, not the Australian taxpayer, unlike the Northern Endeavour.
Buying BHP’s Australian oil and gas assets could allow Woodside to escape its lost decade, but its shareholders and Australian taxpayers should count their fingers after the handshake.
Woodside has found corrosion during a shutdown of the North West Shelf's LNG Train 4 that potentially is a serious concern. It is understood Woodside is now inspecting other trains for the problem.
Woodside must check if corrosion on fourteen 24-tonne caissons under an offshore platform could cause them to fall onto subsea pipelines with possibly catastrophic results.
Plentiful and cheap gas to WA may be undermined by pressure from North West Shelf LNG participants and Perth Basin producers for the McGowan Government to weaken its ban on the export of onshore gas.
