A major LNG processing facility planned for an island off WA that is a class A nature reserve has cleared its final environmental hurdle, with Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull yesterday granting EPBC Act approval to Chevron Australia for its Gorgon gas development.
The A$11 billion Gorgon LNG project had received state government environmental approval in September, despite a WA EPA recommendation that it was not environmentally acceptable.
The Gorgon project would initially involve construction of two five million tonnes a year LNG trains on the island, as well as facilities to inject deep underground up to 80% of the CO2 that will be stripped from the gas.
The project operator is Chevron Australia, which has a 50% stake in the joint venture. Its partners in the project are Australian subsidiaries of ExxonMobil and Shell. Barrow is about 70 kilometres off the WA coast and has many unique species of plants and animals.
The three project proponents say siting the LNG plant and associated facilities on Barrow is the only commercially feasible option and would also allow sequestration of much of the CO2.
However, director of the Conservation Council WA Chris Tallentire told CE Daily the LNG plant should have been located on the mainland where it would pose less of an environmental threat.
“Clear alternatives exist,” he said.
Tallentire said joint venture claims that Barrow was the only suitable site for sequestration were “unproven” and locating the LNG trains on the mainland would not preclude having the associated sequestration plant on Barrow.
Quarantine management plan
Conditions attached to the EPBC Act approval include a requirement for Chevron Australia to develop and implement a quarantine management plan prepared with the advice of relevant federal departments and a quarantine expert panel.
It must also develop an environmental monitoring programs capable of detecting any significant impacts on listed threatened species with any such impacts to be notified to the federal environment department within 48 hours of detection.
Chevron must also prepare a carbon dioxide injection monitoring program to identify any unexpected migration of sequestered CO2. It must also prepare operations environment management plans for project facilities and these must be approved by the minister. Other conditions of approval include a requirement to prepare a long-term marine turtle management plan for ministerial approval and to provide an annual environmental performance report to the federal environment department.
Labor welcomes decision
Colin Beckett, Chevron Australia’s general manager for the Greater Gorgon Area, said the ruling concluded four years of “rigorous state and federal assessment”.
Shadow resources and energy minister Chris Evans welcomed the decision and said a federal Labor government would direct up to $100 million a year of the revenue earned from Gorgon towards building infrastructure in WA.
Last November, the federal government announced Gorgon operator Chevron would receive a $60 million Low Emissions Technology Demonstration Fund grant for a commercial-scale demonstration project to liquefy CO2 in preparation for sequestration.
Approval: Gorgon Gas Development (EPBC Reference: 2003/1294) (Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, October 2007)
