Australian independent Woodside Petroleum said it will defend its legal position against a claim made in the Supreme Court of Western Australia (WA) over the environmental planning approvals for the expansion of its 4.3mn t/yr Pluto LNG venture and the proposed connecting pipeline with the nearby 16.3mn t/yr North West Shelf (NWS) LNG venture, both located in WA.
The Conservation Council of Western Australia (CCWA) has begun a legal challenge in the Supreme Court to overturn environmental approvals for Woodside's proposed Burrup hub LNG expansion, which includes building a second train at Pluto and the gas interconnection plant between Pluto and NWS.
The Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) had lodged the claim on behalf of the CCWA. The claim alleges that approvals given by the WA state government to process gas, potentially including from the proposed Scarborough gas field in the Carnarvon basin, for Pluto, and Browse Basin gas fields, for NWS, were given in contravention of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA), which requires environmental impact assessment for any developments that would have a significant impact on the environment, the CCWA said.
"Our client has engaged in good faith with the EPA and Woodside for over a year on this issue and is now left with no choice but to apply to the Supreme Court in their stand for due process and transparency," EDO managing lawyer Tim Macknay said in a statement.
Woodside has had at all times complied with regulatory requirements and environmental processes in seeking and receiving approvals, Woodside chief executive officer Peter Coleman said in a statement.
"We intend to vigorously defend our position. The CCWA is resorting to a legal challenge a year and a half after the approvals were granted," Coleman said.
The legal action comes at a time when Woodside is working towards a final investment decision (FID) on the development of the 13 trillion ft³ (368bn m³) greater Scarborough fields to provide feedstock for a second 5mn t/yr train at Pluto and additional backfill gas for the NWS LNG venture.
Woodside in July delayed the FID for the development of the Browse gas field to 2023 from 2021.
