WA watchdog warns Woodside's Browse gas project threatens turtles, whales and coral
Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority has signaled a likely rejection of Woodside Energy’s Browse gasfield plan, citing severe risks to endangered turtles, pygmy blue whales and the unique coral at Scott Reef.
The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority has prepared a draft letter that recommends rejecting Woodside Energy’s plan to develop the Browse gasfield, located roughly 300 km off the Kimberley coast. The EPA staff warned that drilling could cause serious or irreversible damage to the Scott Reef marine park, home to over 1,500 species, including endangered green turtles that breed on Sandy Islet and migrating pygmy blue whales.
Proposed safeguards such as explosive-driven shear rams and a 20 km no-drill zone around the islet were judged high-risk and unlikely to prevent a spill lasting up to 13 days, which could have lasting effects on the reef. Woodside, Australia’s largest fossil-fuel producer, needs the gas to feed its North West Shelf processing plant, which is approved to run until 2070 and could release roughly 88 million tonnes of CO₂ each year.
The EPA’s recommendation will be forwarded to environment minister Matthew Swinbourn, after which a three-week public comment period will open. Greenpeace and other environmental groups have called for the project’s rejection, labeling the mitigation measures as “fanciful” and urging regulators to stay independent of corporate influence.
Why it matters
The decision will determine whether a major gas project proceeds, affecting vulnerable marine life and Australia's carbon emissions.
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