The revelations follow questions to the offshore regulator NOPSEMA at Senate Estimates overnight.

Comments attributable to Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO David Ritter:

“Companies with oil and gas rigs are required to have environmental management plans. These are a critical part of our regulatory framework and require developers to explain how their actions might impact our precious natural environment.

“Under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Environment) Regulations 2023 the plans must be revised every 5 years so that changes to these risks can be properly scrutinised.

“Greenpeace Australia Pacific is concerned to learn that Woodside is in breach of these important environmental laws.

“Woodside’s legacy of toxic spills, accidents, and leaving oil and gas infrastructure rusting in the ocean despite orders from Australian authorities, shows that the company can’t be trusted when it comes to protecting our environment.

“Woodside’s operations are continuing at three facilities despite their last environment plans being accepted over five years ago, and revised environment plans not having been submitted for consideration by NOPSEMA. These include:

• the Macedon operations which was due to have a revised environment plan submitted to NOPSEMA by about 15/10/2023;
• the Vincent Maersk Ngujima-Yin FPSO operations on which the environment plan was due to be submitted by about 28/11/2023; and
• the Pyrenees facility operations which was due to have a revised environment plan submitted by about 3/1/2024.

“NOPSEMA confirmed in Senate Estimates that it issued an informal extension to Woodside on these environment plans, but that doesn’t go far enough.

“Greenpeace Australia Pacific is now urging NOPSEMA to exercise its powers to issue a directions notice to Woodside to force compliance with the requirement to submit revised environment plans.

“Ahead of an expected decision from the Federal Environment Minister concerning Woodside Energy’s climate-wrecking Burrup Hub project – the most polluting fossil fuel project currently proposed in Australia – we urge the Minister to take note of these concerns.

“Federal Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, is reviewing Woodside’s plans to exploit the Browse gas field – a key part of the Burrup Hub project. This would require drilling up to 50 wells around Scott Reef, Australia’s largest stand-alone coral reef atoll and a vital habitat for pygmy blue whales and green sea turtles. The project would also require building a 900km-long pipeline through two marine parks.

“A decision to rule out Woodside’s Burrup Hub is a decision to save Scott Reef and prevent untold environmental harm.”

Greenpeace’s report into the potential risks of Woodside’s Burrup Hub project is here.

Images of the stunning, pristine Scott Reef are available for hi-res download here. Additional photos and materials can be made available on request.

—ENDS—

Adopted in June 2023, the UN Oceans Treaty is the most significant multilateral environmental deal since the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and a vital tool to help reverse the ocean crisis. Australia joined dozens of other nations in signing the historic and legally-binding pact, but it must still be ratified by individual countries before it comes into effect.

The Treaty must enter in force by 2025 to keep the globally agreed target of protecting 30% of the oceans by 2030 within reach.

Palau’s ratification highlights Pacific nations’ continuing leadership on global ocean protection, and sends a strong signal for other countries, including Australia, to fast-track ratification and take action to deliver protected oceans sanctuaries where marine life can recover and thrive.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific senior campaigner Violette Snow said “The Global Oceans Treaty is a critical step forward in the fight to protect our oceans from the mounting threats of climate change, marine plastics and overfishing.”

“We congratulate Palau on becoming the first country to ratify the Global Oceans Treaty, a powerful tool to protect our oceans,” she said. 

“Australia’s leadership and cooperation with like-minded countries has seen a commitment to stronger protections for our oceans, but now the Australian government must back up words with action. 

“Lying between Australia and New Zealand, the Lord Howe Rise and South Tasman Sea have been identified as areas of ecological significance, but right now they’re under threat from harmful fishing practices.

“The race to protect our oceans is on. We urge Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to follow Palau’s announcement and act just as swiftly to ratify the Treaty, and to follow through on its conservation leadership on the global stage.”

Palau is the first nation to officially ratify the treaty, after Chile last week approved their treaty legislation with a unanimous vote in their senate. 

—ENDS—

Notes to editors

In September 2023, Greenpeace International published a report setting out the political process to deliver protection for the global oceans. The report, ‘30×30: From Global Ocean Treaty to Protection at Sea’ explores how cumulative pressures on the high seas are increasing, and quantifies for the first time the growing fishing activity in areas earmarked for protection, using data from Global Fishing Watch.

Images for media use can be found here

Seismic blasting uses underwater airguns to blast powerful sound waves towards the seabed to identify fossil fuel reservoirs beneath the ocean floor. It can seriously injure whales and potentially kill other marine life. A growing body of research indicates that this noise pollution can damage, sometimes permanently, the hearing of whales and fish, as well as kill important prey species like plankton. 

Woodside’s own acoustic modelling found that pygmy blue whales could be injured by the seismic blasting over 60km from the blasting vessel. The blasts are expected to run for weeks, with local wildlife being exposed to booms as loud as a jet plane every 5 seconds, 12 hours a day.

Seismic blasting is just the first part of Woodside’s monstrous Burrup Hub. The whole Burrup Hub will include drilling up to 80 gas wells off the Pilbara and Kimberley coast – posing a threat to wildlife at major biodiversity hotspots like Scott Reef. 

Woodside and its Burrup Hub is Australia’s biggest climate threat, belching out 6.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over its proposed 50-year lifetime.

The Burrup Hub is so dirty that its climate pollution would be greater than the combined total of the next two largest fossil fuel projects: the Beetaloo Tamboran and the Peak Downs Extension.

Woodside’s seismic blasting is way too risky and it should never have been given the green light. But the fight isn’t over yet. With enough pressure, we can make sure the government pulls the plug on Woodside’s disastrous plans. You can help by signing the Woodside petition or emailing your local MP.

If completed, the Burrup Hub would produce gas until 2070 – a full 20 years after Australia is meant to reach net zero emissions – and would emit 6.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime. The Browse Field – the most polluting part of the Burrup Hub – would see up to 50 gas wells drilled around Scott Reef off the coast of Western Australia, which is home to endangered pygmy blue whales and green turtles.

The protest comes as Woodside received approvals for its controversial seismic blasting off the coast of Western Australia, in endangered whale habitat and near the UNESCO-protected Ningaloo reef, just two months after a Federal Court threw out its previous approval.

Greenpeace is campaigning against fossil fuel giant Woodside as Australia’s biggest climate threat. It is responsible for the most polluting fossil fuel project proposed for Australia, the Burrup Hub gas project.

If completed, the Burrup Hub would produce gas until 2070 and would emit 6.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime. The Browse Field – the most polluting part of the Burrup Hub – would see up to 50 gas wells drilled around Scott Reef off the coast of Western Australia, which is home to endangered pygmy blue whales and green turtles.

Woodside received approvals for its controversial seismic blasting off the coast of Western Australia, in endangered whale habitat and near the UNESCO-protected Ningaloo reef, just two months after a Federal Court threw out its previous approval.

The four highly trained Greenpeace climbers began the ascent in the early hours of the morning, where they attached the banner in direct line of sight from the Woodside offices.

It comes as Woodside received approvals for its dangerous seismic blasting off the Pilbara coast, in endangered whale habitat and near the UNESCO-protected Ningaloo reef on Friday, just two months after a Federal Court threw out its previous approval.

“Fossil fuel giant Woodside and its monstrous Burrup Hub gas project are not only Australia’s biggest climate threat, but a huge threat to Australia’s precious whales and wildlife,” said David Ritter, Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s CEO.​​​​​​​

“Woodside is a double whammy of destruction, endangering whales and Australia’s transition away from fossil fuels. Woodside is driving Australia deeper and faster into the climate crisis with its massive fossil fuel expansion plans. We won’t stand for it. We are here to say enough is enough.

“Australians overwhelmingly want climate action – but fossil fuel giants like Woodside is standing in the way, pushing outrageous new gas projects that threaten our oceans and cook our climate.”

New emissions data released last week from Greenpeace revealed that Woodside’s Burrup Hub is Australia’s biggest climate threat, projected to emit 6.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over its proposed 50-year lifetime, bigger than the combined total of the next two largest proposed fossil fuel projects in Australia.

The Browse field, the most polluting part of the Burrup Hub, would see up to 50 gas wells drilled around the pristine Scott Reef, which is home to endangered pygmy blue whales and green turtles.

The action comes on the thematic day of Energy and Industry and Just Transitions at the world’s biggest climate conference, COP28, in Dubai.

“The world’s annual climate conference is happening right now, where experts are calling time on fossil fuel companies like Woodside, saying they cannot keep trashing our climate with dirty new gas projects. We want clean, green jobs in Australia, not more dirty gas,” said Sophie McNeill, Greenpeace senior campaigner.

“The recent approval for Woodside’s seismic blasting proves the current laws and regulations are failing to protect our oceans and marine life from harmful new fossil fuel projects. The law needs to be significantly strengthened to protect our oceans for future generations.” ​​​​​​​

Joe Palmer, a Greenpeace Australia Pacific activist who climbed the crane, said: “I’ve taken this action today because Woodside is threatening our oceans and our climate. I’ve seen the precious reefs at risk from Woodside’s drilling off the west coast and endured bushfires on the east coast. Australia should be proud of our nature and we should be proud to call ourselves a green energy superpower, but Woodside wants to chuck our reputation in the bin.

“Australia is already facing unprecedented and unseasonal bushfires and heatwaves because of global heating, fuelled by the burning of fossil fuels at the hands of companies like Woodside.

“Woodside needs to listen to the science. It’s on the wrong side of history. That’s why we need to stop Woodside.”

Greenpeace is calling on the Federal Government to reject Woodside’s Burrup Hub Proposal.

—ENDS—

Photos and video of the protest will be uploaded here: https://media.greenpeace.org/Detail/27MZIFJFYDGP0

Contextual photos and b-roll available here: https://media.greenpeace.org/Detail/27MZIFJF7LD6B

The Burrup Hub will release over 6.1 billion tonnes of carbon emissions in its lifetime to 2070. You can find out more about Woodside’s proposed climate-wrecking gas plans here.

Millions of years ago, a massive barrier reef – as big as the Great Barrier Reef – stretched along the coast of what is now northern WA. Over time the reef retreated. Now all that remains is a series of isolated atolls Ashmore Reef, Seringapatam and Scott Reef, and the Rowley Shoals.

You might not have heard much about Scott Reef, but it’s a pretty special place. Scott Reef consists of two formations, North Scott Reef and horseshoe-shaped South Reef. This oceanic reef system includes a third formation – Seringapatam Reef – which is about 30km to the north east of Scott Reef.

We were lucky enough to visit the Scott Reef system in May 2023 when the Rainbow Warrior toured Western Australia. The waters surrounding the three reefs are teeming with life. There are at least 29 species of marine mammals; 41 species of birds; almost 1,000 species of fish; sharks, sea snakes, rays, sawfish and many more amazing and unique animals – some of which haven’t been found anywhere else. 

Scott Reef is a critical spot for endangered pygmy blue whales (EPBC Act). Each autumn, thousands of whales migrate up the coast of Western Australia, traveling from the cool waters of southern Australia to the tropics. In spring, they migrate south again, spending the summer in Tasmania, Victoria and southern Western Australia before swimming north again. 

The whales’ migration path takes them right past Scott Reef. Although we don’t know for sure, many whale experts believe that Scott Reef is an aquatic Driver Reviver – a place for pygmy blue whales (and other migratory species) to stop and feed before continuing their journey. 

Nestled in between North and South Scott Reef is Sandy Islet – a tiny spit of sand where up to a thousand endangered (IUCN; vulnerable – EPBC Act) green sea turtles lay their eggs every year. Adult sea turtles are migratory and swim up to thousands of kilometres to get here. 

Females nesting near Sandy Islet are highly dependent on the food-rich waters around Scott Reef to sustain them during this exhausting period. A few months later, the newly hatched green turtles make their way to the ocean and the cycle begins again.

Like all coral reefs, Scott Reef is threatened by rising sea levels and warming oceans caused by climate change. Yet it faces an additional threat: fossil fuel giant Woodside. Browse, Australia’s largest untapped conventional gas reserve, lies directly underneath Scott Reef. 

Woodside wants to drill up to 50 wells to develop Browse – and pump the gas buried deep under the reef hundreds of kilometres to shore to be processed and exported overseas.

Woodside’s dirty gas could be a disaster for Scott Reef and the wildlife that depends upon it. It would turn this pristine reef and surrounding waters into an industrial gas zone blighted by seismic blasting, gas flaring, drilling and pipelaying. 

The climate change produced by Woodside’s dirty gas would contribute to ocean warming, which causes coral bleaching and seriously harms marine life. And if one of Woodside’s wells suffered a blowout – well, the consequences of a worst-case spill here are unthinkable.

Thankfully, there’s still time to stop Woodside. Federal Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, will soon be reviewing Woodside’s plans. Contact your MP today and let them know that you want Scott Reef protected from Woodside and its dirty gas. 

P.S. It has come to our attention that previously Greenpeace has inadvertently used an image of an adjacent reef to depict Scott Reef. The correct image is used above (Image 1). Greenpeace apologises for any confusion caused.

The new data from Greenpeace shows that the predicted emissions from Woodside’s Burrup Hub are far greater than all other proposed fossil fuel projects currently undergoing federal environmental approvals.

The Burrup Hub’s emissions are bigger than the combined total of the next two largest proposed fossil fuel projects in Australia: the Beetaloo Tamboran and the Peak Downs Extension.

The data comes as Western Australian experts and campaigners join today’s roundtable discussion on the Burrup Hub hosted by West Australian MPs Kate Chaney and Josh Wilson, including the Conservation Council of WA, Environs Kimberley, Doctors for the Environment WA and Greenpeace.

The delegation will highlight the staggering climate threat of Woodside’s Burrup Hub, alongside evidence of the devastating nature impacts.

The Browse field, the most polluting part of the Burrup Hub, would see up to 50 gas wells drilled around the stunning Scott Reef, which is home to endangered pygmy blue whales and green turtles.

*Graph verified by Greenpeace, emissions data sourced from Sunrise, Climate Analytics and Greenpeace.

Jess Panegyres, Head of Clean Energy Transition at Greenpeace Australia Pacific said:

“This data proves that Woodside’s massive Burrup Hub project is far and away the most polluting fossil fuel proposal in Australia – it’s a disaster in the making for our environment and our climate.

“We know that Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek will soon decide whether to let Woodside develop the most polluting parts of the Burrup Hub – Browse, and the Northwest Shelf extension.

“Browse, part of the Burrup Hub, would see gas wells drilled near the stunning Scott Reef, in a Biologically Important Area for endangered pygmy blue whales and turtles. We are asking Minister Plibersek to protect Scott Reef and the endangered species that call it home from Woodside’s dangerous project.

“In the last few weeks we’ve seen Woodside pressuring the government to weaken federal environment laws to make it quicker and easier for Woodside to start seismic testing for the Burrup Hub.

“Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill knows that across Australia communities are increasingly pushing back against new fossil fuel projects, so is trying to rush this through as fast as she can – despite this project’s enormous environmental harm.”

Anna Chapman, Fossil Fuels Program Manager, Conservation Council of Western Australia said:

“Off Australia’s Kimberley coastline, the ecologically vital Scott Reef, the country’s largest standalone coral reef, faces severe threats from Woodside’s Browse to North West Shelf gas project. This venture, part of the controversial Burrup Hub, plans to extract gas from directly beneath the reef.

“The delicate ecosystem of Scott Reef, already endangered by climate change, confronts further risks, including seismic blasting, and the potential for a catastrophic gas well blowout if Woodside’s project proceeds.

“This is a crucial climate and environmental decision for Australia. Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and State Environment Minister Reece Whitby must reject these proposals.”

Dr Richard Yin, Deputy Chair Doctors for the Environment Australia said:

“Climate care is health care. If the Burrup Hub project proceeds, emissions from the project will fuel further devastating heatwaves and bushfires such as those that Perth has recently experienced which has threatened homes and lives.

“Across our state, from floods and extreme heat in the north, through to droughts and bushfires in the south, we are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts. For the sake of our children and their future health, the Burrup Hub project must not proceed.”

Martin Pritchard, Director of Strategy, Environs Kimberley said:

“Communities in the Kimberley’s Fitzroy Valley were devastated by the biggest recorded floods in Western Australia’s history earlier this year and what the science tells us is that opening new oil and gas fields is going to lead to these catastrophic events happening much more often.

“If fossil fuel proposals like Woodside’s Browse Basin gas project at Scott Reef are approved then future temperature projections show us that the Kimberley will be unliveable by the end of this century because it won’t be possible to live a healthy life here, it will be too hot.

“Risking Scott Reef and the Kimberley coast to oil and gas pollution is strongly opposed by the community and a spill there would devastate the globally significant marine hotspot and multi-million dollar tourism industry.”

CONTACT: 

Dylan Quinnell 0450 668 350

Kimberley Bernard (in Canberra on the day) 0407 581 404

Event details:

PHOTO OPP: 8.50AM-9.15AM, PARLIAMENT HOUSE LAWN.

Campaigners, experts and politicians on the lawns of parliament and banners and signs.

• Kate Chaney MP, independent member for Curtin
• Josh Wilson MP, Labor member for Fremantle
• Monique Ryan, independent member for Kooyong
• Graham Perret, Labor member for Moreton
• Zoe Daniels, independent member for Goldstein
• Anna Chapman, Fossil Fuels Program Manager, Conservation Council of WA (CCWA)
• Jess Panegyres, Head of Clean Energy Transition, Greenpeace
• Sophie McNeill, Senior Campaigner at Greenpeace
• Dr. Richard Yin, Doctors for The Environment WA
• Martin Pritchard, Director of Strategy, Environs Kimberley

ROUNDTABLE: 10AM PARLIAMENT HOUSE, 1R4

Hosted by Kate Chaney MP, independent member for Curtin and Josh Wilson MP, Labor member for Fremantle, featuring:

• Alex Hillman, Lead Analyst, Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR)
• Anna Chapman, Fossil Fuels Program Manager, Conservation Council of WA (CCWA)
• Jess Panegyres, Head of Clean Energy Transition, Greenpeace
• Dr. Richard Yin, Doctors for The Environment WA
• Martin Pritchard, Director of Strategy, Environs Kimberley
• Sophie McNeill, Senior Campaigner at Greenpeace will be moderating the event

NOTES:

Images and footage of the Scott Reef where Woodside is proposing to drill for gas available here

Images and footage of Woodside infrastructure available here.

Images and footage of the photo opp outside Parliament House will be available on Monday from 10.30am.

Greenpeace investigators used drones and satellite images to film and photograph Woodside dredging in the Dampier Archipelago, off the Pilbara coast in northern Western Australia. The area is a critical breeding habitat for sea turtles, including endangered hawksbill turtles and green turtles. Footage taken by Greenpeace shows turtle nests on Conzinc Island just metres from where Woodside is dredging.

Just last week the fossil fuel company’s controversial plan for seismic blasting in endangered whale habitat was approved by the offshore regulator NOPSEMA. It’s the first major environmental plan to be approved by the regulator since the Tiwi Islands Federal Court case earlier in the year.

Woodside plans to seismic blast for up to 80 days off the Pilbara coast to assess gas reserves for its Burrup Hub, which if it goes ahead will be Australia’s dirtiest fossil fuel project. 

Greenpeace has vowed to escalate pressure on the company.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific senior campaigner Richard George said that Woodside’s Burrup Hub is an ecological disaster and is already getting significant backlash from the community.

“Woodside’s Burrup Hub is a disaster for nature and the climate. We will be fighting it every step of the way and ensure the world is watching Woodside’s wanton destruction of our environment,” he said.

“Right now, Woodside is dredging the seafloor in the beautiful Dampier Archipelago, creating a plume of destruction so big it can be seen from space. Woodside’s dredging is disturbing fragile marine ecosystems and posing a direct threat to baby sea turtles. It’s an environmental disaster that should have never been allowed to go ahead.

“Woodside also has the green light to seismic blast in whale habitat, close to an endangered pygmy blue whale migration superhighway and UNESCO-protected Ningaloo Reef. Seismic blasting can deafen whales, who use their sonar to find food – so a deaf whale is a dead whale.

“You would think the awful pictures of pilot whales beaching in southern WA would have reminded Woodside how vulnerable whales are to changes in their environment.

“Woodside’s vision for the region includes running a pipeline right past diving paradise Rowley Shoals, and drilling all around Scott Reef, one of Australia’s most pristine coral reefs. All in order to export climate-wrecking gas that will bring us more bushfires, drought and floods.

“Australians want green jobs and healthy oceans, not Woodside’s dirty gas. Every day more and more people are taking action to stand up for our oceans and climate. Woodside’s greedy executives should brace for community outrage. We’re calling on Australia’s federal leaders and regulators to reject Woodside’s further plans and stop this dirty project in its tracks.

—ENDS—

Images and footage of Woodside’s dredging activity in Dampier Archipelago, activists on site and footage of humpback whales and turtles in the area can be found in the Greenpeace Media Library

Key facts about Woodside’s Burrup Hub pipeline

• The overall Scarborough pipeline would run approximately 435km from the Pluto LNG onshore gas processing plant to the offshore Scarborough gas field. About 400km of the pipeline is in Commonwealth waters. 
• The pipeline would run through Mermaid Sound in the Dampier Archipelago and Montebello Marine Park. Several of the islands in the Dampier Archipelago are nature reserves.
• The nearshore section of the pipeline (from the shore to about the 50km offshore mark) will be laid by first dredging a trench and dumping the dredged material at some specified nearby sites (the ‘spoil grounds’). The pipeline will be laid inside the trench. The trench is then backfilled using spoils from the trench or sand which will be dredged and transported from a nearby ‘borrow ground’.
• Up to 2.7 million cubic metres of material will be dredged out of the pipeline route in both state and commonwealth waters.
• Up to 2 million cubic metres of sand will be dredged and taken from the commonwealth borrow ground. The commonwealth borrow ground is an area of about 17km2 that is only 250m from the boundary of the Dampier Marine Park. 
• The state waters section of the pipeline is expected to take about 18 months in total to complete. The commonwealth waters section is expected to take about 24 months to complete. It is unclear if there will be overlaps in these timings.

Nature impacts

• Mermaid Sound is a critical nesting and internesting habitat for Green Turtles (Endangered) and Hawksbill Turtles (Critically Endangered), a mating, nesting and internesting habitat for Flatback Turtles (Data Deficient) and an internesting habitat for Loggerhead Turtles (Vulnerable). Note that these are the species status as per the IUCN Red List.
• Montebello Marine Park is an internesting habitat for Green Turtles, Flatback Turtles, Hawksbill Turtles and Loggerhead Turtles, which nest on nearby Montebello Islands. 
• According to Woodside, the pipeline is likely to affect nine species of whale, including pygmy blue whales, sei whales, fin whales, southern right whales, humpback whales and Antarctic minke whales. 
• According to Woodside, the pipeline is likely to affect whale sharks, grey nurse sharks, oceanic whitetip sharks, white sharks, shortfin and longfin mako sharks, reef manta rays and giant manta rays, and various species of sawfish.  

It is also a question that deserves a clear answer, so here it goes: people in WA and around the world are increasingly focussed on Woodside because of the huge threat it poses to WA’s oceans and wildlife, and to our global climate. 

There is mounting disgust at the impunity with which Woodside is being allowed to proceed with its destructive plans. As Tim Winton has said “we can’t keep averting our gaze and pretending that this isn’t happening”. 

Just last week, Woodside got the green light from the regulator to start seismic blasting off WA’s north-west coast. Right now, Woodside’s blasting ship is headed toward WA’s coastline. Soon, there will be underwater sonic cannons exploding in the habitat of endangered whales. 

As the shocking recent footage of beaching pilot whales at Cheynes Beach showed, cetaceans are deeply sensitive to changes in their environment. Seismic blasting is incredibly loud and can damage the hearing of whales, leaving the creatures unable to navigate, communicate or forage for food. A deaf whale is a dead whale.

And it is not only the whales. Some of the most incredible and pristine places in our oceans – jewels like Scott Reef, Rowley Shoals, Mermaid Sound and even the world-famous Ningaloo Reef – are all at risk. 

Woodside wants to run pipelines and drill for gas on the fringes of some of Australia’s most intact coral reefs. Whether or not you’re an environmentalist, no one can deny the value of the billions of dollars these fishing, diving, and tourism hotspots bring to the WA economy every year. All that could be lost because of Woodside’s corporate greed.

Then there’s the straight out climate impacts. We’ve already seen our state and country burn, flood, and crack under unprecedented weather extremes, supercharged by climate change that is driven by the burning of coal, oil, and gas. It’s the same confronting story the world over. 

Not only is Woodside perpetuating harm, it’s also stopping progress on solutions. 

For instance, modelling commissioned by Woodside from the CSIRO demonstrated that Woodside’s gas exports risked crowding out the growth of renewable energy in Asia – this was a report Woodside tried to suppress, but journalists uncovered through freedom of information requests. 

Woodside has also made claims about the local business benefits for its gas, which are baseless. Most of the gas from Scarborough and Browse will be exported so it won’t have a significant impact on the Australian grid. 

And by attempting to lock in decades of future gas extraction, Woodside is crowding out clean energy, making it difficult for governments and businesses to invest in renewable infrastructure and supply. This makes it more expensive for polluting-but-essential industries like steel and mining to switch to clean energy, and means that West Australians get left behind as other nations take the prize share of jobs and opportunities from the global shift to clean, low-emissions energy and resources. 

This is the context in which Woodside is pushing ahead with the Burrup Hub, which involves drilling multiple wells across two huge massive offshore gas fields and extending the operations of gas infrastructure until 2070. 

Woodside knows full well that if it goes ahead, the Burrup Hub will be Australia’s dirtiest fossil fuel project, producing the equivalent of more than 12 times Australia’s annual domestic climate pollution. But Woodside apparently doesn’t care, so long as it can deliver short-term profits to shareholders.

Going back to the Premier’s question – which he asked in the context of some protestors turning up outside Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill’s house last week – it’s no wonder that so many people are obsessed with stopping Woodside. 

And it is a shame that the protestors became the story – rather than that Woodside had been given the green light to blast the ocean.

The quiet frustration is growing, amongst ordinary people who are worried about the future and are fed up with Woodside being allowed to chuck a spanner in the works.

There is a rising tide of determination that the state’s future can be clean, safe, and prosperous – powered by renewable energy. The real obsession is with building that better future; which is why so many West Australians are now determined to stop Woodside. You can join them.

Tell Woodside it’s time to walk away from its toxic gas project.

David Ritter is the CEO of Greenpeace Australia Pacific

Ten years ago, Western Australian company Woodside Energy and its joint venture partners exited a planned $80 billion Browse LNG project at Walmadany (James Price Point). It took one of the biggest most effective environmental campaigns in Australia’s history to win. Traditional Custodians and the local community, with national and international support, protected the Kimberley coast from the world’s biggest gas refineries and ensuing industrialisation.

Walmadany, with its endangered monsoon vine thickets, turtle nesting beaches, bilbies, and the world’s biggest fossilised dinosaur footprints, was saved. Its numerous shell middens, songlines, burial sites and priceless Aboriginal heritage, were shielded from 30km² of concrete and the adjacent ocean was defended from becoming a 50km² ‘deadzone’ as described in the government’s own reports.

‘Protect Songlines’ – a plea from Traditional Custodians Phillip Roe, Eric Hunter and Richard Hunter © Damian Kelly

Ten years later and the fossil fuel industry is back, determined to burn every last molecule of methane, regardless of the cost to our climate and risks and damage to the world’s top natural refuges.

I’ve been here before. The fossil fuel industry will stop at nothing to make obscene profits, regardless of the damage to ecosystems, water reserves and climate. We have no choice; we must keep fighting together until the region is protected.

The new fight is to stop the Kimberley’s world-renowned landscapes from being turned into a fracking hell. Oil and gas companies are wanting to build vast gas fields on land in the Kimberley’s Canning Basin, requiring thousands of wells to feed an export pipeline. Buru Energy is flagging a floating LNG facility in the National Heritage-listed King Sound – a vast expanse of water last stronghold of the critically endangered freshwater sawfish, fringed with mangrove systems and rich mudflats supporting saltwater crocodiles and. The Martuwarra Fitzroy, a National Heritage listed river, flows into King Sound, creating a rich ecosystem with one of the highest tides in the world.

Oil and gas exploration well pad encroaching on the King Sound mangrove system © Damian Kelly

If fracking went ahead, the carbon pollution could be more than Australia’s Paris Agreement carbon budget for energy twice over. The Kimberley conservation community has been holding back the tide of fracking by raising awareness, leading protests, lobbying government, sending tens of thousands of submissions to the Environment Protection Authority and holding industry to account.

Woodside and its joint venture partners, with BP the biggest backer, is again out in the Browse Basin, focusing on drilling around the Scott Reef, 400km of the Kimberley coast. This time they want to pipe the gas, which has a high CO2 content, to the Pilbara to process at existing facilities. The gas factory would trigger a carbon bomb of six billion tonnes of CO2 over its lifetime. An oil spill would devastate Scott Reef and threaten the Pygmy Whales who travel here annually.

The Rainbow Warrior, which visited Broome to support the ‘Whales not Woodside’ campaign, was warmly welcomed by Kimberley locals, who came onboard, to keep Browse Basin gas in the ground and to stop fracking in the Kimberley.

Having the Rainbow Warrior here and sharing information about our campaigns in the Kimberley and offshore, and hearing the Traditional Owners’ concerns about climate change, was an event that energised us all. A decade ago, the Kimberley community rallied to shut down Woodside’s proposed Browse LNG gas terminal at James Price Point. We won.

Now, we are ready to show a force of strength again against Buru Energy, and let them know the community is behind us, and we wont stand for their new plans.

By Martin Pritchard – Director of Strategy, Environs Kimberley

Environs Kimberley, Traditional Owners, scientists, musicians, elders and Greenpeace crew will meet to discuss the threats and solutions to new and expanding gas projects in the Kimberley.

It’s the first time Greenpeace’s flagship the Rainbow Warrior has docked in Broome, as it sails West Australia’s coastline to document the precious marine biodiversity at threat from new gas.

The meeting comes 10 years after the James Price Point protests, which forced Woodside to abandon its plans for the Browse gas field and an LNG gas factory near Broome. 

Greenpeace Head of Clean Transition Jess Panegyres said the Kimberley is an incredibly special region that must be protected. 

“The Kimberley is precious – its land, its coast, its culture – but is at serious risk as the climate warms. We are proud to stand with communities across the Kimberley who are calling for no new gas in order to safeguard their future,” she said.

“At Greenpeace we’re very concerned about Woodside’s plan to open up the Browse gas field 400km North of Broome, part of its mega Burrup Hub project. Not only would Browse release over a billion tonnes of additional climate pollution, but Woodside also want to drill at the beautiful Scott Reef, placing multiple marine parks and endangered marine life at risk”. 

Environs Kimberley Director of Strategy Martin Pritchard said the Kimberley community is again calling for an end to gas and fracking in the region.

“A decade ago, the Kimberley community rallied to shut down Woodside’s proposed Browse LNG gas terminal at James Price Point. We won. Now, we are ready to show a force of strength again against Buru Energy, and let them know the community is behind us, and we wont stand for their new plans,” he said.

“Buru Energy has picked a fight with the wrong community. The Kimberley has stood strong against gas and fracking giants for years. We are more determined than ever to prove the Kimberley is worth protecting.” 

Climate projections alarming

The Kimberley has been at the frontline of climate change, which contributed to a spate of devastating flooding disasters this year.

Climate models suggest the Kimberley will suffer a predicted temperature increase of up to 2.5C in the next 30 years and become unliveable by 2090 if current global warming trajectory continues.

Pritchard said the imminent threat of climate catastrophe in the Kimberley cannot be ignored. 

“The Kimberley has recently suffered the devastating impacts of climate change in the form of flooding. Our days are projected to get hotter, and our next generation will be forced to leave if the Kimberley becomes unlivable. We are facing catastrophic climate threats if we don’t take serious action. New gas and oil fracked and extracted from the ground will decimate this special place.” 

—ENDS—