Western Australia clears Woodside's North West Shelf project extension
Dec 12 (Reuters) - The state of Western Australia has given Woodside Energy environmental clearance to extend the life of its North West Shelf liquefied natural gas (LNG) project until 2070, the country's top oil and gas producer by market value said on Thursday.
The decision marks the end of a six-year wait for approval and resumes the federal environmental approval process that was paused due to pending appeals, Woodside announced on Thursday.
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The state's approval is a critical step for the long-term processing of North West Shelf Joint Venture field resources and third-party gas resources at the Karratha Gas Plant, Liz Westcott, Woodside's executive vice president said.
The approval comes with several conditions, including a requirement for Woodside to submit a report within one year and every five years thereafter, detailing measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The state's appeals committee in its report updated earlier this month estimated the project would emit nearly 4.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the extended 50-year lifetime.
Environmental groups have long opposed the extension, citing emissions and potential damage to the environment and cultural heritage. Over 700 appeals were lodged with the state's Appeals Convenor.
"The WA government just failed the community and future generations by approving the largest fossil fuel project in the Southern Hemisphere, dismissing a huge number of appeals against it," Anna Chapman, the fossil fuels program manager at the Conservation Council of WA, said.
(Reporting by Sameer Manekar and Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Tasim Zahid)