Just in ...
Oooooh Dear...The One-Nutted Warmies will NOT like this at all !!
The news
In his first major decision in the portfolio, Australia’s new Environment Minister Murray Watt has given Woodside preliminary approval to keep running the assets out to 2070.
“Following the consideration of rigorous scientific and other advice including submissions from a wide cross-section of the community, I have today made a proposed decision to approve this development,...
The preliminary approval comes after years of uncertainty over the North West Shelf’s future, and marks one of the biggest political moves so far by the re-elected Albanese government,...
However, Watt’s decision is also a sign of the government’s recognition of the gas industry’s ongoing importance to the economy, both as a multi billion-dollar exporter of LNG to Asia, and as a supplier of traditional energy to the millions of Australian homes and businesses that still rely on fossil fuels....
ASX-listed Woodside, the largest Australian oil and gas company, applied for the decades-long extension at a state level six years ago, before securing WA state government approval in December. It had been waiting on the federal government’s sign-off...
Why it matters
The long-awaited announcement has been welcomed by the oil and gas industry, which describes the North West Shelf as a critical economic driver in the region, employing more than 330 people locally and delivering $40 billion in state and federal royalties over its life. The gas it delivers, meanwhile, provides energy security for homes and businesses in WA and overseas.
Approving the Karratha gas plant’s extension now clears the way for Woodside to progress a $30 billion proposal to develop new offshore gas fields in the Browse Basin, considered the country’s largest untapped conventional gas resource.
