Woodside Energy and the Status of the Browse Project

The Government of Western Australia has granted the $35 billion Browse project the status of a State Significant Project. This designation ensures the project receives priority consideration at the state government level.

Browse is the largest undeveloped offshore gas condensate field in Australia, with estimated reserves of 14 trillion cubic feet of gas and nearly 390 million barrels of condensate.

Development Plan and Infrastructure

As part of the field’s development, Woodside plans to use two floating production, storage, and offloading units (FPSOs). The extracted gas will be transported via a 900-kilometer subsea pipeline to the existing North West Shelf project in Western Australia.

Strategic Importance and Government Collaboration

The State Significant Project status was granted due to Browse’s critical strategic importance for the region. This status provides for enhanced interagency cooperation and support, and helps coordinate the process of obtaining key permits and progressing through the project’s development stages.

Woodside has stated its intention to continue working with the government, industry, Indigenous communities, unions, and local stakeholders at all stages of project approval and implementation.

Environmental Issues and Public Consultations

The project faces opposition from environmental organizations concerned about the ecological and climate impacts of drilling, including on Scott Reef. The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority previously concluded that the planned drilling would have unacceptable environmental impacts and could result in carbon emissions of up to 1.6 billion tonnes.

Recently, a 20-day public consultation period was completed as part of the project review, overseen by the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW). The results of the consultations and the DCCEEW’s decision have not yet been published.

Legal Proceedings

Woodside is also involved in legal proceedings initiated by environmental groups Friends of Australian Rock Art (FARA) and ACF, who are challenging the federal approval to extend the North West Shelf project’s operation until 2070. Specifically, ACF claims that the environment minister’s refusal to assess the greenhouse gas emissions from the gas hub was unlawful. Hearings on this case began on Tuesday in federal court.

Partners and Changes in Ownership Structure

Currently, the Browse project partners are Woodside (30.6%), BP (44%), Mitsubishi-Mitsui (14.4%), and PetroChina (10.67%). The ownership structure is expected to change after BP completes the sale of a 5% stake to South Korea’s GS Group and Woodside acquires PetroChina’s share, exercising its pre-emptive purchase right ahead of Japan’s Inpex.