The Commonwealth Government has signed off on plans to extend the life of Australia’s biggest gas plant by 40 years.

Last week, Environment and Water Minster Senator Murray Watt gave the final approval for energy giant Woodside’s application to extend the operation of the North West Shelf Project.

Whereas the previous approval to operate the project was set to expire in 2030, the project now has environmental approval to continue to operate until 2070.

Located in north-western Australia near Karratha, the North West Shelf project includes a network of offshore oil and gas infrastructure as well as an onshore processing facility in Karratha.

Since its beginning in the 1980s, the project has supplied natural gas to customers in Western Australia as well Liquified Natural Gas exports to international customers.

It’s ‘extension’ simply relates to environmental approval to continue operations past the previous expiration date of 2030.

It does not involve any construction of new assets or upgrades to existing assets.

The granting of approval to extend the lifespan of the North West Shelf ends a process which has dragged on since Woodside applied for the extension more than six years ago.

The approval follows the granting of state-level approval for the extension last year.

However, the approval is subject to 48 conditions which have been imposed in addition to those which have already been set by the Western Australian Government.

In addition to minimising environmental impact, the conditions aim to ensure that the assets minimise impacts in terms of Murujuga rock art.

It will require steps to restrict air emissions which may otherwise accelerate damage to the artwork.

In particular, the conditions will require a reduction in certain gas emissions below their current levels.

In some cases, emissions will need to be reduced by 60 percent by 2030, with ongoing reduction requirements thereon after.

The conditions will also allow for any new science achieved through the Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program (MRAMP) to be accounted for by requiring the approval holder to comply with any air quality objectives and standards that are derived by the Program.

The program was established in 2020 with the aim of providing reliable information on changes and trends in the condition of Murujuga rock at. In particular, it aims to provide information on whether or not the rock art is showing signs of accelerated change.

The 48 conditions include:

• Limits on emission of certain gasses which may damage rock art and reductions in these emission levels over the lift of the plant.
• Compliance with the conditions of the approval by the WA Government to prepare an air quality management plan.
• Establishment of a system for continual monitoring of emissions.
• Ongoing review and implementation of best practice emissions reductions technology.
• Implementation of a cultural heritage management plan.
• Annual reporting on compliance including emissions data which is collected by the monitoring system.

In terms of the broader environment, the project will be required to reduce its emissions each year and to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions under Labor’s existing Safeguard Mechanism.

This is an existing requirement and is not part of any new approval conditions.

(Project map: image: Woodside)

The decision to grant approval for the extension has drawn praise from industry lobby groups but condemnation from environmental groups and traditional owners.

Anita Logiudice, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia (CME), said the long awaited resolution will help to underpin long-term energy security for Western Australia as well as Australia’s neighbours.

Logiudice said that the extension will help to underpin decarbonisation efforts by Western Australia along with those of international customers.

“The importance of the North West Shelf to WA cannot be overstated,” Logiudice said.

“The North West Shelf Project has provided energy security for WA for more than 40 years, supported WA industries and created thousands of direct and indirect jobs.

“Since coming online in 1984, the North West Shelf Project has generated over $40 billion in royalties and excise – money used to fund roads, schools and hospitals as well as essential services like Medicare and the NDIS.

“In addition to its economic benefits, gas has a key role to play in the decarbonisation of WA’s power grids as a reliable and affordable form of back-up electricity when the sun is not shining and wind turbines fall still.

“LNG exported from WA is also helping our Asian neighbours to displace coal, providing energy security on their own decarbonisation journeys.”

But the decision has been slammed by traditional owners and environment groups.

Mardathoonera woman and Murujuga traditional custodian Raelene Cooper has slammed the decision.

Describing the approval as a “betrayal” to Aboriginal people, Cooper says she has instructed her lawyers to prepare a legal challenge.

Cooper said that the conditions imposed were no better than those that already existed.

Aboriginal groups have long been concerned that nearby industrial projects including the North West Shelf are accelerating the degradation of World Heritage listed rock art.

Meanwhile, Australian Conservation Foundation climate program manager Gavan McFadzean warned that giving approval to extension of ‘the largest fossil fuel project in the Southern Hemisphere’ would accelerate climate change.

Citing research by both Australian Conservation Foundation in 2024 and also by Climate Analytics, McFadzean said that lifetime greenhouse gas emissions from the project would equate to more than 13 times Australia’s annual emissions from all sources and that emissions from the plant out to 2070 will likely cause the loss of around 11,000 km² of Arctic Sea ice and US $176bn in extreme heat-related damages globally.

He said that conditions imposed will do little to prevent the extension’s environmental impact.

“The conditions can’t alter the fact the Albanese government is responsible for granting one of the world’s largest gas approvals while the planet is engulfed in a climate crisis,” McFadzean said.

“The Albanese government’s progress on renewables at home is wiped out by its continued support to expand Australia’s gas exports. No matter where Australian gas is burned, it puts people and nature in harm’s way by fuelling more extreme weather.”

“The safeguard mechanism already requires major emitters to be net zero by 2050. This is not a new condition.

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