Browse to NWS Project

11.4 MTPA
Project capacity LNG/LPG and domestic gas (100% of project)
A$56.2 billion
In taxes, royalties and excise estimated, including approximately A$19.8 billion in Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT).
4,760
Direct and indirect full-time equivalent jobs estimated at peak operations.
A$141 billion
Estimated uplift in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

QUESTION

Will Browse deliver benefits to Australians?

FACT

Independent modelling by Deloitte Access Economics shows that the Browse project is not just an energy project, but a whole-of-economy investment. Browse has the potential to support thousands of direct and indirect jobs and billions of dollars in taxes and royalties.

Additional Facts

QUESTION

Would Browse put threatened sea turtles, whales and other vulnerable species at risk?

FACT

No significant impacts on marine fauna species are predicted to occur as a result of the proposed project’s activities.

For more information, refer to the environmental impact assessment in the Proposed Browse to North West Shelf Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environment Review Document.

In conjunction with leading Australian academic and research organisations, the Browse participants have funded environmental research and studies for over three decades to better understand the offshore marine environment in the vicinity of the Browse resources.

As a result of the investment, Scott Reef has one of the most intensive long-term monitoring programs of any Australian reef system.

QUESTION

What does the 2026 EIA report say about Browse and renewables?

FACT

Independent modelling by Deloitte Access Economics shows that Browse moderates the timing of renewable deployment rather than reducing the total deployment of renewables. By 2050, renewable and storage capacity is virtually the same with Browse. The difference is that Browse supports a smoother deployment profile that reduces peak delivery pressure in the 2030s.

The modelling shows that achieving net zero by 2050 requires unprecedented renewable and storage deployment in all scenarios. It will require a pace of change that is well beyond what has been delivered across the past decade, around 11 times historical rates, every year, in order to achieve net zero by 2050. Less aggressive deployment misses the target by decades.

Browse does not cap renewables and is compatible with a net zero by 2050 pathway for Western Australia.

QUESTION

Does Browse involve onshore fracking?

FACT

The proposed Browse Development is a conventional offshore natural gas project and does not involve onshore fracking. The project is currently in the pre-FEED (front-end engineering and design) stage.

QUESTION

If Browse is approved, will Sandy Islet be at risk of sinking, putting threatened sea turtles and other vulnerable species at risk?

FACT

Subsidence (the technical term for the downward movement of the ground) from gas extraction was identified as a potential threat to Sandy Islet in the Browse to North West Shelf Project Environmental Impact Statement.

To improve understanding of this threat, in 2024 and with the emergence of new technology, Woodside conducted higher resolution subsidence modelling that indicated there is a 95% probability that subsidence under Sandy Islet would be less than 3.8 mm over the life of the project.

In conjunction with leading Australian academic and research organisations, the Browse Joint Venture (BJV) has funded environmental research and studies for over three decades to better understand the offshore marine environment in the vicinity of the Browse resources.

These programs have resulted in more than 70 scientific, peer-reviewed publications in international journals over the last 30 years on the environment and species of the Browse region – their distribution, biology and ecology – which were used in the evaluation of the Browse Project’s environmental impacts and risks.

As a result of the funding by the Browse Joint Venture and others, Scott Reef has one of the most intensive long-term monitoring programs of any Australian reef system.

QUESTION

Is carbon capture and storage (CCS) a real option?

FACT

CCS is a mature technology which represents a proven solution to abate large-scale industrial emissions.

Globally, CCS has been successfully used for decades, in particular in support of enhanced oil recovery but is now being utilised for permanent emissions storage.^*

_{* IPCC, 2022. 'Climate Change
2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the
Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change', Summary for Policymakers, paragraph C.4.6.}

QUESTION

What is Woodside's plan to address the associated emissions from Browse?

FACT

The Browse participants have determined that a carbon capture and storage (CCS) solution for the Browse to North West Shelf Project is feasible.

The Browse CCS Project would be designed to sequester^* most of the reservoir CO₂ from the project.

The CCS Project is expected to reduce the Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions from Browse by approximately 53 Mt (47%). It will also enable a further reduction of approximately 9 Mt of Scope 3 GHG emissions from reservoir CO₂ that would otherwise be sent to the North West Shelf onshore processing facilities.

^*^{Sequestration refers to the practice of storing CO₂ after it's captured from industrial facilities and power plants or removed directly from the atmosphere (www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainscarbon-sequestration).}

QUESTION

Does Browse involve drilling wells on Scott Reef?

FACT

Scott Reef will not be drilled, mined or built on.

The nearest drilling would occur approximately 3 km from the reef.

No physical contact is predicted to occur with Scott Reef (above the 75 m water depth). All proposed activities would occur in waters more than 300 m deep.

The closest floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel (a specialised type of ship used to process and store minerals extracted from offshore fields) would be located almost 8 km from the reef and nearly 30 km from the Sandy Islet turtle nesting habitat.

QUESTION

How independent is the Deloitte Access Economics' EIA Report?

FACT

Woodside provided various project specific inputs such as costs and production volumes as standard practice modelling requirements.

These inputs were validated by Deloitte Access Economics where possible including through the use of publicly available data.

Non-project specific inputs such as energy price assumptions were developed independently by Deloitte.

The CGE and ESP modelling outcomes are generated through Deloitte's in house regional specific models. 

QUESTION

Will Browse destroy Scott Reef and the adjacent marine environment?

FACT

The design of the proposed project has considered the proximity to Scott Reef and includes a number of commitments and measures to avoid or minimise potential environmental impacts.

Further details are available in the Browse to North West Shelf Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environment Review Document (EIS/ERD) and the amendment.

In conjunction with leading Australian academic and research organisations, the Browse participants (Woodside, bp, MIMI and PetroChina) have funded environmental research and studies for over three decades to better understand the offshore marine environment in the vicinity of the Browse resources.

As a result of the investment by the Browse participants and others, Scott Reef has one of the most intensive long-term monitoring programs of any Australian reef system.