Woodside to Resubmit Browse CCS Plan Under New Australia Rules

Woodside plans to resubmit its Browse carbon capture project under updated Australian rules, a key step in managing emissions tied to LNG development.

(Reuters) — Woodside Energy has withdrawn plans for its huge Browse carbon capture and storage (CCS) project from the Australian government's environmental approvals process but plans to resubmit it, a spokesperson said on March 30.

The federal government's revamped Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act allows a revised referral to be submitted, the spokesperson said.

• Withdrawal of Woodside's plan was published on the federal government's environmental approval register last week.
• “Woodside remains committed to progressing the CCS Project through a transparent and robust environmental assessment process and intends to resubmit the referral as soon as practicable,” the spokesperson said.
• The EPBC Act was reformed last year to streamline approvals and cut red tape while also offering stronger protection for nature, the government said then.
• Woodside has proposed to use the Browse fields off northwest Australia to supply the ageing North West Shelf LNG facility, which received a 40-year life extension to 2070 last year.
• Browse gas contains up to 12% carbon dioxide. In the past CO₂ would have been vented to the atmosphere, but under new guidelines the emissions must be managed from start-up.
• Woodside has proposed to inject up to 4 million metric tons a year of CO₂ back into the Browse reservoirs and reduce direct emissions by 47%.
• Woodside's partners in Browse are BP, Japan's Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi, and the international arm of PetroChina.
• Japan's Inpex said in January it would resubmit plans for its proposed Bonaparte CCS project under the new EPBC Act.