Full Breakdown
EPA Warns Woodside’s $30 b Browse Gas Project Could Cause Irreversible Marine Damage
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EPA Warning and Project Scope
Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) issued a draft letter stating that Woodside Energy’s proposal to drill up to 50 new gas wells near Scott Reef and lay a 900-kilometre underwater pipeline poses “serious or irreversible damage” to the reef, the Rowley Shoals and surrounding marine environments. The EPA noted that five modelled spill scenarios, while low-probability, could have “catastrophic” consequences. The letter, prepared by then-EPA chairman Matthew Tonts, was dated late 2023 and handed to Woodside the following year.
Official Responses
Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt has not yet announced a decision, but the federal assessment is in its final stages.
Criticism and Opposition
Conservation Council WA executive director Matt Roberts warned that the EPA had to enlist independent experts to peer-review Woodside’s claims about threatened species such as green sea turtles and pygmy blue whales.
> “The letter outlined how the EPA was so concerned about the proposal, it bought in independent experts to peer-review Woodside’s claims dismissing potential impact on threatened species, including green sea turtles and pygmy blue whales,” — Matt Roberts, council WA executive
> “It also reveals for the first time that the state government – the Department of Mines Industry Regulation and Safety and the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions – had serious concerns about the harm to WA’s oceans and marine life.” — WA Premier Roger Cook
Outlook
Both state and federal regulators are in the “latter stages” of their assessments, but no timetable has been provided for a final decision. Woodside maintains that the letter does not reflect the current proposal, citing “substantial changes” made since the EPA’s preliminary view.