Australian energy giant Woodside has reached an agreement with the Australian Conservation Foundation (AFC) to ensure that a two-year legal battle over preliminary environmental approval for its massive energy project off the coast of Australia is dismissed.
The ACF, represented by the Environmental Defenders Office, initiated legal proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia concerning the offshore environmental impact assessment of the Scarborough Energy Project in June 2022 and applied for an injunction to stop offshore activities. However, the AFC has now agreed with Woodside to discontinue legal proceedings against the project.
The gas project has been subject to environmental impact assessments by regulators including the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority, the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, the Western Australia Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, the Western Australia Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and the Western Australia Environmental Protection Authority.
Meg O’NeillCEO of Woodside, emphasized: “Lawsuits against energy projects like Scarborough are an ineffective way to find solutions to global climate and energy problems. Such approaches create unnecessary uncertainty for businesses, communities and the people who depend on the energy these projects produce.”
With all key environmental approvals in place, offshore work is progressing well, so much so that the Australian energy giant and ACF have agreed to apply to the court for a stay of proceedings. This energy project includes the Scarborough Joint Venture (JV), the Pluto Train 2 JV and changes to Pluto Train 1 for processing Scarborough gas.
O’Neill emphasized: “The Scarborough reservoir contains less than 0.1% carbon dioxide and, combined with the efficiency of the processing design, will be one of the lowest carbon sources of LNG for the North Asian markets.
“The Scarborough Energy Project will make an important contribution to energy security in Western Australia while providing energy to Asian economies as they decarbonise. The project is supported by and consistent with the energy policies of the Australian and Western Australian Governments.”
The project was 67% complete at the end of June 2024 and is scheduled to deliver the first LNG cargo in 2026. It will generate over A$50 billion (US$33.43 billion) in direct and indirect taxes for the Australian economy, create over 3,000 jobs during the construction phase and create or sustain an average of almost 600 jobs during operations.
The Scarborough Gas Project in the Carnarvon Basin is located 375 kilometres off the Pilbara coast of Western Australia and comprises new offshore facilities connected by an approximately 430-kilometre pipeline to a second LNG line at the existing onshore Pluto LNG plant.
This project involves the installation of a Floating Production Unit (FPU) with eight wells in the initial phase and thirteen wells over the life of the gas field. All wells will be tied to a semi-submersible FPU anchored in 950 metres of water near the Scarborough field.
With the total cost estimate for the project recently increasing to $12.5 billion, representing an $8.2 billion share for Woodside in the Scarborough Integrated Energy Project, this is a 4% increase from the previous cost estimate of $12 billion when a Final Investment Decision (FID) was announced in November 2021.
Woodside cites the continued progress of the Pluto Train 1 modification project as the primary cause of the cost increase. Of the 51 modules needed for the Scarborough project’s Pluto Train 2, 29 were delivered to site and 25 modules were in position at the end of the quarter.
