Woodside's North West Shelf project gets minister nod for life extension beyond 2030

Woodside and the North West Shelf joint venture welcomed the federal government's proposed decision to grant environmental approval for the NWS project life extension, Woodside Energy said in a statement May 28.

The Albanese government's Minister for the Environment and Water Murray Watt has given approval to the extension of the NWS project -- one of the world's largest LNG developments that supplied 14% of Western Australia's domestic gas in 2024 -- subject to conditions, Woodside said.

Following an assessment and appeals process, the Western Australian state government approved the NWS project extension in December 2024, with conditions related to cultural heritage, emissions and air quality.

The federal government's proposed approval extends the project's life beyond 2030, with approval now in place through 2070.

Woodside Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Australia Liz Westcott said the proposed federal government approval will provide certainty for the ongoing operation of the NWS project after rigorous assessments and appeals.

"This proposed approval will secure the ongoing operation of the North West Shelf and the thousands of direct and indirect jobs that it supports," Westcott said.

Woodside has received the proposed federal conditions, covering issues such as cultural heritage management and air quality. "We recognize the significance of these matters and are reviewing the proposed conditions to understand their application," it said.

The company remains committed to protecting the Murujuga Cultural Landscape and supporting its World Heritage nomination.

Meaningful consultation with Traditional Owners is also underway as part of these conditions, including compliance with all air quality objectives and standards from the Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program, Woodside said.

"This decision has been a long time in the coming, and I'm just very pleased, particularly for our employees and the contractors who work at our facilities in Karratha and offshore," Woodside Energy CEO Meg O'Neill said at a media briefing on May 28 during the Australian Energy Producers 2025 Conference & Exhibition.

The move strengthens Woodside's ability to continue providing reliable domestic gas to customers while meeting its obligations to LNG export clients.

With the approval, "we've got some conditions, and as the minister noted, it is a draft approval. So we've got a 10-day window to work with the department to understand the conditions," O'Neill said.

"We look forward to executing that work as quickly as possible and being able to get the final approval so we can move forward," she added.

The scale of the global energy mix is enormous, and the world needs much more natural gas -- especially LNG that can compete with coal," O'Neill said.

"We look forward to developing other assets, like Louisiana LNG, Scarborough and hopefully Browse at some point in time, to again continue to try to meet the world's energy needs," she added.