Article by Angelica Snowden, courtesy of Herald Sun.
13.10.2025
Woodside Energy says it will “vigorously” defend two Federal Court fights challenging the oil and gas giant’s North West Shelf hub extension.
The Australian Conservation Foundation and Friends of Australian Rock Art Inc revealed on Monday their plans to challenge environment minister Murray Watt’s clearance of the project’s extension to 2070 in the Federal Court.
“The Federal Government’s approval follows a comprehensive and extended assessment carried by both Commonwealth and State regulators in accordance with statutory processes,” a Woodside spokeswoman said.
“The North West Shelf Project Extension was referred to the Federal regulator on 18 November 2018 and was under assessment for nearly seven years,” she said.
“Woodside intends to vigorously defend its position in these proceedings.”
The Australian Conservation Foundation will argue Senator Watt wrongly considered the economic benefits of the unapproved Browse gas project in his statement of reasons for approving the North West Shelf extension.
As well, it will allege the approval left out critical details.
“The minister gave the green light without knowing the details of the gas the project will process and what pollution it will cause,” a statement by the activist group claims.
“The minister failed to consider the physical effects of climate change as an ‘impact’.”
The Australian Friends of Rock Art allege Senator Watt’s approval of the project extension is “invalid, because the Minister failed to properly take into consideration the economic and social harms that would result from ongoing damage to Murujuga heritage”, according to a statement on social media.
Responding to news about the legal challenges, Senator Watt said: “My decision was made in accordance with the law.”
“The conditions I set, along with those set by the WA Government, were designed to prevent significant damage to the rock art which is the test required under the EPBC Act.
Given the decision is now under legal challenge, I will not comment further on this matter,” he said.
Announcing his formal approval in September, Senator Watt said the “decision making scope” for the extension proposal was narrow.
The key risks considered related to “matters protected under federal environmental law”, in this case, the World Heritage listed Murujuga rock art, part of Western Australia’s Dampier Archipelago.
“In making this decision, I have imposed 48 strict conditions that will avoid and mitigate significant impacts to the Murujuga rock art,” he said in a statement at the time.
The liquified natural gas plant, 135km northwest of Karratha in Western Australia, was cleared in September to keep operating until 2070.
Woodside Energy agreed to scale back its emissions and said it would comply with about 50 additional conditions. These included reducing the emissions of gases such as nitrogen oxide – which some scientists have argued is accelerating the erosion of ancient Aboriginal rock art in the surrounding area – by 60 per cent by 2030 and 90 per cent by 2060.
Senator Watt previously said the conditions would help to protect the rock art.
“(The conditions) will ensure that this project will be operated in a way that does not cause unacceptable impacts to the Murujuga rock art, in compliance with federal environmental law, including restricting air emissions which otherwise could have accelerated damage,” he said.
The conservation foundation’s general counsel Adam Beeson said the environmental group was “challenging the lawfulness of Minister Watt’s approval of this gas hub extension, which is the centrepiece of the most polluting gas project in the Southern Hemisphere”.
“Research released by ACF in 2024 shows lifetime emissions from the NW Shelf gas hub would be more than 13 times Australia’s annual emissions from all sources,” Mr Beeson said.
“Under the terms of the approval, Woodside’s gas hub on the Burrup Peninsula can keep polluting until 2070, unleashing 4 billion tonnes of climate pollution. This is unacceptable. We are already living in the era of climate consequences and our window to avoid the worse to come is rapidly closing.”