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The Australian government has been considering a proposal to extend the operating life of the NWS gas plant in Karratha, Western Australia, beyond the expiry of its current approval in 2030, until 2070.
“Following the consideration of rigorous scientific and other advice including submissions from a wide cross-section of the community, I have today made a proposed decision to approve this development, subject to strict conditions, particularly relating to the impact of air emissions levels from the operation of an expanded onshore Karratha gas plant,” Environment Minister Murray Watt said in a statement.
“I have provided the proponent with an opportunity to comment within the statutory timeframe of 10 business days, and I will consider the proponent’s comments before a final decision is made,” he said.
In December 2024, Woodside and its partners received environmental approval from the Western Australian government.
Woodside welcomed the federal government’s proposed decision to grant environmental approval for the NWS project extension in a separate statement on Wednesday.
The company also noted that it has received the proposed conditions, which relate to matters including cultural heritage management and air quality, and is reviewing them to understand their application.
Woodside executive VP and COO Australia Liz Westcott said the proposed approval will provide “certainty for the ongoing operation of the North West Shelf project following rigorous assessments and appeals.”
“This nationally significant infrastructure has supplied reliable and affordable energy to Western Australia for 40 years and international customers for 35 years and will be able to continue its contribution to energy security,” Westcott said.
Declining supplies
In August last year, Woodside said it was preparing to shut one of the five trains at its North West Shelf LNG terminal due to declining natural gas supplies.
The plant has five LNG trains, launched between 1989 and 2008, with a capacity of 16.9 million tonnes per year. Most of these volumes supply customers in Japan.
In September 2022, the Woodside-operated Karratha gas plant, part of the North West Shelf project, shipped its 6000th cargo of LNG.
The facility also has domestic gas trains, condensate stabilization units, and LPG units.
Australia’s oldest LNG plant has been liquefying gas from fields located off the north-west coast of Australia since 1989.
However, these fields are slowly running out of gas and the project is now shifting its focus towards a different business model aimed at processing gas from third parties.
Back in 2022, Woodside started sending gas from its Pluto offshore field to the LNG plant at Karratha.
This accelerated production of Pluto gas followed the start-up of the Pluto-KGP interconnector.
Woodside operates both the NWS and Pluto LNG facilities. Its partners in NWS include BP, Chevron, Japan Australia LNG, and Shell.
In December 2024, Chevron and Woodside agreed to an asset swap under which Woodside will exit the Wheatstone LNG project and Chevron will sell its stake in the NWS project.