Draft documents and newly released correspondence from Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority (WA EPA) show independent regulators warned Woodside Energy’s Browse gas project poses “serious and irreversible” risks to Scott Reef, prompting calls from environmental advocacy groups for state and federal authorities to formally reject the proposal.
According to 2023 draft documents presented to the EPA board, staff recommended invoking the precautionary principle, warning that oil spill risks and potential habitat destruction could not be reduced to acceptable levels, The Guardian reported.
Woodside’s multi-billion-dollar proposal involves drilling up to 50 offshore wells at Scott Reef, located 300 kilometres off the Kimberley coast, and piping gas via a 1,000-kilometre subsea pipeline to the North West Shelf export plant near World Heritage-listed Murujuga rock art.
Scott Reef supports more than 1,500 marine species, serving as a critical nesting site for green turtles and a primary feeding ground for endangered pygmy blue whales.
In early 2024, the EPA sent a preliminary rejection letter to Woodside. Additional advice from the WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions further highlighted high risks to green turtle nesting habitats, noting that proposed company mitigations, such as beach sand additions, were likely ineffective.
In response, Woodside introduced explosive-driven shear rams to its drilling design to seal potential well blowouts within 12 hours, backed by a capping stack deployed within 16 days.
However, independent experts and peer operators questioned the field readiness of pyrotechnic shearing technology, while regulators advised that a 13-day oil leak could inflict permanent damage on the ecosystem.
Environmental groups have seized on the leaked regulator assessment to demand a final rejection under national nature laws.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific Head of Nature Glenn Walker stated that regulators previously signalled the project was bound for rejection following extensive departmental reviews, arguing that any approval now would represent a major backflip.
“It would be a major backflip for both the WA EPA and the National EPA to now recommend approving this project. It is now critical that these regulators maintain their independence from corporate and political influence and reject this destructive project once and for all,” Walker said.
Similarly, Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Piper Rollins urged Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt to heed scientific warnings, emphasising that Browse, a majority foreign-owned project intended largely for export, presents unacceptable threats to pristine marine environments.
Both state and federal environmental protection agencies continue to assess the proposal.
“Browse is a majority foreign-owned gas project that would send at least 85 per cent of the gas overseas and in, the process, damage Scott Reef and the endangered whales, turtles and other marine animals that rely on it,” Rollins said.
“Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt’s imminent decision on Browse must reflect what reef experts and the WA EPA acknowledge: Woodside’s gas export project cannot proceed without risking grave and irreversible harm to the pristine Scott Reef and Kimberley marine environment.”