Australia's federal government has approved a decades-long extension to the 14.3mn t/yr North West Shelf (NWS) LNG terminal in Western Australia (WA), easing some of the project's regulatory challenges.
The approval requires the NWS joint venture to monitor and manage air emissions to protect the Dampier Archipelago National Heritage Place, Australian producer Woodside Energy said on 12 September. Woodside Energy owns 50pc of the NWS terminal.
Australia's federal government provisionally approved the extension on 28 May, subject to environmental conditions designed to project 60,000-year-old indigenous rock art at the nearby Murujuga Cultural Landscape. But talks between the government and Woodside Energy over the specific conditions continued for months, delaying final approval.
The NWS extension project still faces legal hurdles. Friends of Australian Rock Art (Fara) in mid-June appealed the WA government's 2024 decision to approve the project. Air pollution from the terminal is harming ancient indigenous rock art, Fara said.
Woodside remains committed to protecting the Murujuga Cultural Landscape, it said on 12 September.
The project is also facing non-legal challenges. Global energy producer Shell, which holds a one-sixth stake in the NWS project, is reconsidering its role in the project. The company regularly assesses its project portfolio to inform disciplined capital allocation, a company spokesperson told Argus on 5 September.
NWS' LNG production fell by 22pc on the year in January-March because declining feedstock prompted it to pause a 2.5mn t/yr processing train. The joint venture plans to develop the Browse gas field to backfill NWS.
