Article by Matt Mckenzie, courtesy of The West Australian.
It adds to ongoing concern in the energy industry that regulatory fights, lawfare, and uncertainty are pushing the land Down Under down the list of places to invest in big projects.
Her comments come as the new United States president moves swiftly to shake up America’s government and economy. He’s backed in oil and gas, while risking a global trade war through new taxes on imports from Canada, Mexico and China.
“Amid rising global protectionism and greater competition for capital, Australia must sharpen its competitive edge even further,” Ms O’Neill will say.
“And moves by the new Administration in the US to deregulate the economy and spur new energy investments make the challenge for countries like Australia even more acute.”
The Perth-based gas giant put its money where its mouth is in 2024, making a clear shift into the US market. Woodside bought the Louisiana LNG development and the Beaumont low carbon ammonia project in Texas.
Closer to home, the company waited almost six years for the State Government to green-light a life extension of the Karratha Gas Plant, which was a crucial step to develop the huge Browse LNG project.
The plant has operated since 1984 and Woodside wants to keep it running for decades — drawing opposition from environmentalists concerned about the impact of carbon emissions on climate change.
“We understand the need for robust environmental assessment, but when an approval to continue to use existing infrastructure takes more than six years, it’s in nobody’s interests,” Ms O’Neill said.
“It does not give Australia a competitive edge, or better environmental outcomes.
“We need action to reverse this trend and make sure Australia is a place that proudly homegrown Australian companies, like Woodside, can continue to invest in for the long term.”
Ms O’Neill has been the focal point of environmental activism against the LNG export industry’s carbon emissions, which are about 8 per cent of the national total.
Four protesters fronted Perth Magistrates Court this week after pleading guilty to charges of trespass and criminal damage following a 2023 incident outside Ms O’Neill’s home.
Woodside was engaged in its own court battle over seismic blasting for the Scarborough gas project off the Pilbara coast in 2023.
But fellow gas giant Santos won a Federal Court fight with the Environmental Defenders Office over the Barossa development. The EDO was ordered to pay $9m in costs after the court found some evidence was “lacking in integrity”.
Ms O’Neill said Governments must take on the activists using “lawfare” to stop the oil and gas industry.
“(We need) action to challenge activist organisations practising lawfare, which prioritises the political agendas of a few over the national interest.”
She also weighed into the debate about the climate impact of Australian LNG — claiming transitioning Asian power generation from coal to gas would cut global carbon emissions by 680 million tonnes a year.
“(We) should prioritise measures that deliver the biggest bang for buck when it comes to decarbonisation,” Ms O’Neill said.
“The reality is we get far more impact from replacing coal in Asia with Australian LNG, than we do from asking Australian consumers to switch their household appliances from gas to electric.”
