Woodside Energy has used its 2025 Sustainability Focus Session to brief investors on the recent UNESCO World Heritage listing of Murujuga, underscoring both the cultural significance of the site and the implications for its long-running gas operations on the Burrup Peninsula.
The session was led by Executive Vice President Sustainability, Policy and External Affairs Tony Cudmore and Global Head of Indigenous Affairs and Human Rights Sharon Reynolds, who outlined how the new heritage protections intersect with Woodside’s sustainability strategy and engagement with Traditional Owners.
In the virtual session, Cudmore and Reynolds provided an overview of the World Heritage inscription of the Murujuga Cultural Landscape and fielded questions from investors on regulatory, operational and reputational risks to Woodside’s Burrup assets.
The company said the briefing formed part of a broader program of investor engagement on climate, cultural heritage and human rights, as it seeks to demonstrate alignment with global environmental, social and governance (ESG) expectations.
Woodside highlighted existing governance structures for Indigenous affairs and heritage management, including dedicated leadership roles and formal partnerships with local Aboriginal organisations.
The company reiterated that future development proposals would be subject to strengthened heritage and environmental assessment processes following the World Heritage decision.
Murujuga, on Western Australia’s Pilbara coast, was formally added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2025 as one of the world’s most significant concentrations of ancient rock art.
The 100,000-hectare cultural landscape contains more than one million petroglyphs, with some images estimated to be up to 50,000 years old, and is recognised as a masterpiece of human creative genius and a unique record of long-term interaction between people and their environment.
The inscription, led by the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation on behalf of the Ngarda-Ngarli Traditional Owners with state and federal government support, triggers stronger heritage protections under Australian law and a requirement for periodic state of conservation reporting to UNESCO.
Murujuga is only the second Australian World Heritage property inscribed solely for First Nations cultural heritage, following Victoria’s Budj Bim Cultural Landscape.
Woodside has operated on Murujuga since the late 1970s, when it selected the Burrup Peninsula as the onshore processing hub for the North West Shelf Project, now one of the world’s largest LNG export facilities.
Gas from offshore fields is processed at the Karratha Gas Plant, which supplies up to about 15 per cent of Western Australia’s domestic gas demand, with the balance exported as LNG to key Asian markets.
The company’s broader “Burrup Hub” concept links the North West Shelf facilities with the Pluto LNG plant and planned third-party gas developments, positioning the Pilbara as a long-term LNG production centre.
Historical construction on the peninsula led to the removal and destruction of thousands of rock art motifs, a legacy that continues to attract scrutiny from Traditional Owners, environmental groups and some investors in light of Murujuga’s upgraded heritage status.
Woodside used the session to situate Murujuga within its climate and sustainability framework, including targets to cut its net equity Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 15 per cent by 2025 and 30 per cent by 2030 from a baseline of 6.32 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent.
The company’s long-term aspiration is to achieve net zero equity Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050 or sooner, supported by asset decarbonisation plans, energy efficiency projects and a portfolio of lower-carbon and new energy opportunities.
Woodside emphasised that natural gas remains central to its strategy as a “transition fuel” supporting energy security and displacing higher-emission fuels in Asia, while acknowledging growing expectations for alignment with Paris Agreement goals and tighter scrutiny of lifecycle emissions from LNG.
Investors were told that heritage, climate and Indigenous rights considerations at Murujuga would remain a core focus as Woodside seeks to balance continued operation of legacy gas assets with emissions reduction and cultural heritage protection commitments.
