Woodside wins approval for seismic blasting off Pilbara coast for massive Scarborough gas project

By WA state political reporter Keane Bourke

Posted Yesterday at 1:47amSat 2 Dec 2023 at 1:47am, updated 7h ago7 hours agoSun 3 Dec 2023 at 5:20am

Woodside's Scarborough development is located in the Carnarvon Basin off the Pilbara coast.(ABC News)

Woodside has once again been given the all-clear to carry out seismic testing for its massive Scarborough project off the Pilbara coast after an earlier approval was ruled invalid by the Federal Court.

Key points:

• The seismic testing was delayed after a court decision in September
• Woodside overcame that hurdle on Friday
• The blasting could potentially begin as early as Saturday

In that case, traditional owner and Mardudhunera woman Raelene Cooper successfully argued the offshore regulator had acted beyond the law by granting the approval on the condition Woodside consult further, including with her.

It meant Woodside was forced to put the works which form part of its $12 billion Scarborough project on hold while it undertook the required consultation.

Last month Ms Cooper had criticised Woodside saying she had only been consulted once since the hearing.

Traditional owner Raelene Cooper had a win in the Federal Court in September, but Woodside now has the all clear to begin seismic blasting off the Pilbara coast.(ABC News: Keane Bourke)

Blasting may begin immediately

The 1,200 page plan was submitted to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) for approval on October 19.

It was approved on Friday with the potential for the testing to begin as early as Saturday.

The process uses blasts of air fired at the ocean floor to identify gas reserves, which helps Woodside know where to extract gas from.

https://amp.abc.net.au/article/103181052