The Canadian infrastructure and investment giant, Brookfield, has reportedly abandoned its plans to invest in Woodside’s Scarborough gas development on Western Australia’s Burrup Peninsula.

According to the Australian Financial Review, Brookfield – which was recently reported to be first in line for a 49 per cent stake in the development – has pulled out of the race, telling its funding banks to ‘stand down’ from an expected multi-billion-dollar bid.

Woodside’s Scarborough project has been widely criticised for the 6.1 billion tonnes of Co2 emissions it will release over the next 25 years – the equivalent of 15 coal fired power stations.

Concerns have also been raised over the detrimental impact of gas production on nearby UNESCO World Heritage shortlisted Aboriginal heritage, with acid gas and acid rain from existing production already causing irreversible damage to 40,000-year-old petroglyphs in the area.

In September, organisations wrote to Brookfield, urging executives to abandon investment in the development.

Brookfield did not respond to the letter directly and have not commented publicly on its involvement in the development.

The Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) Acting Director, Maggie Wood, said the news was an enormous blow for the Woodside project, with the company now staring down the barrel of a $12 billion US cost it may have to bare alone in order to get Scarborough up and running.

“Woodside cannot make Scarborough work without investment,” she said. “The list of potential suitors is narrowing by the day.”