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(Bloomberg) -- Woodside Energy Group Ltd. and the Australian Conservation Foundation agreed to dismiss the latter’s challenge to the development of the $12.5 billion Scarborough natural gas field off Western Australia. Most Read from Bloomberg Manchester Is Giving London a Run for Its Money Boston’s Broke and Broken Transit System Hurts Downtown Recovery A Floating Island in Baltimore Raises Hope for a Waterfront Revival A Warehouse Store Promises Housing for South LA, in Bulk The Cross-Continental Race Using Only Public Transit The parties agreed to seek orders from the Federal Court to dismiss the proceedings, Woodside said in a filing to the Australian Stock Exchange. The project now has all primary environmental approvals in place, and offshore work is “progressing well,” the company said. The announcement comes as scrutiny of fossil fuel developments in Australia increases.
The nation is among the biggest exporters of both coal and liquefied natural gas and its massive LNG plants are some of the biggest emitters, threatening a target to reach net zero by 2050. The ACF had sought to challenge Woodside’s regulatory approvals on the grounds that Scarborough would contribute to meaningful climate change, impacting the Great Barrier Reef — about 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) east of the gas fields. “Late last week it became apparent that the case was unlikely to succeed,” the ACF said in a statement. “Litigation is expensive and risky, and communities often come up against opponents with far greater resources.” Woodside has increased its bets on the future of natural gas, citing its lower emissions relative to coal. It bought a troubled US LNG export developer last month, and has brought Japanese partners into Scarborough, despite facing a backlash on its climate policy from some investors.
Scarborough was two-thirds complete at the end of June and is on track to deliver its first cargo in 2026, Woodside said. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek Inside Worldcoin’s Orb Factory, Audacious and Absurd Defender of Humanity Surgeons Cut a Giant Tumor Out of My Head. Is There a Better Way? Singapore's Wooden Building of the Future Has a Mold Problem New Breed of EV Promises 700 Miles per Charge (Just Add Gas) There’s a Gender Split in How US College Grads Are Tackling a More Difficult Job Market ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. View comments
Woodside, Climate Group Agree to End Scarborough Gas Challenge
August 19, 2024 03:27 PM AEST | By EODHD
