Another tick of approval on a $30 billion gas processing operation in the Kimberley has put Western Australia one step closer to Premier Colin Barnett’s stated aim of becoming the “Saudi Arabia of natural gas”. But could it also prove to be one step back, as its critics claim, for the Kimberley’s standing as one of Australia’s last great frontiers? In a decision announced recently, Woodside’s joint venture partners agreed to the oil and gas giant’s selection of James Price Point, about 60km north of Broome, as the site for a multi-user hub to process liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Browse Basin. The agreement of the JV partners – BHP Billiton, Chevron, Shell and Japan Australia LNG – was accompanied by their commitment to a $1.25 billion works program incorporating final submissions for environmental approval.
See http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/gas-plant-pipedream-a-nightmare-for-some-20100211-nv2z.html
For related material, see https://londonminingnetwork.org/2010/02/woodside-deal-with-indigenous-owners-farcical/.