Woodside has been offered two production licences for the multi-billion dollar Scarborough offshore gas project, located off Western Australia’s north western Burrup Peninsula.
The Scarborough project is a key part of the company’s $52 billion Burrup Hub vision, which aims to become a global hub for production and exports of Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said the Scarborough Joint Venture intends to accept the production licences.
“The impacts of COVID-19 and the ensuing volatility in market and investment conditions have provided us with an opportunity to review options for the Scarborough development, allowing us to improve execution certainty and increase the value of this world-class resource.
“With Production Licences and the Offshore Project Proposal environmental approval in place, Woodside will have secured the key primary Commonwealth approvals required to support a final investment decision,” he said.
Following acceptance, the Scarborough Joint Venture will advance its application for a pipeline licence and submission of the Field Development Plan to the Joint Authority, in readiness for a targeted final investment decision in the second half of 2021.
The Scarborough gas field contains an estimated contingent resource (2C) dry gas volume of 11.1 Tcf (100%; 8.2 Tcf Woodside share, calculated using deterministic and probabilistic methods).
In April 2020, the Scarborough Offshore Project Proposal – the primary Commonwealth environmental assessment document for the Scarborough project in Commonwealth waters – was accepted by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority.
Retention lease renewal applications in respect of the WA-61-R and WA-63-R titles for the Thebe and Jupiter fields (part of the Greater Scarborough gas resource) were submitted to the Joint Authority in May 2020 and are currently under assessment.
In July this year, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the Burrup Hub as a priority project for streamlined approvals.
Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia Keith Pitt said the development of Scarborough, through expansion of the Pluto LNG facility, is expected to create more than 3,200 jobs during the construction phase, and an average of more than 1,300 jobs a year during operations.
“Investments in gas and other Australian resources projects have been the main driver of the Australian economy in recent decades. Progress on the Scarborough project is another show of confidence in the long-term future of Australia’s resources sector and resources jobs,” Minister Pitt said.
