Browse to NWS Project

Carbon management is a key focus for the development. A CCS solution has been incorporated into the offshore design and is expected to enable a reduction of 53 million tonnes (MT) CO2e of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as compared to the project's 2019 Scope 1 emissions estimate.³

The BJV has determined that a CCS solution for the Browse to NWS Project is feasible.⁴ The CCS infrastructure has been incorporated into the offshore design to capture and sequester reservoir CO₂ emissions that would otherwise be vented.

The Calliance Storage Formation into which CO₂ from the Browse fields is proposed to be injected is within GHG Assessment Permit G-8-AP, which was granted to Woodside in 2022. The Calliance structure has a proven ability to trap and contain hydrocarbons over geological timeframes, providing a formation which is highly suitable for the permanent storage of CO₂. The CCS solution is designed to sequester the majority of reservoir CO₂ from the Browse to NWS Project.⁴ This is expected to enable a net reduction of Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions of the Browse development and allow for the sequestration of reservoir CO₂ that would otherwise be sent to onshore processing facilities.

Woodside has established a set of environmental objectives for the Browse Project to manage impacts and risks to air quality, benthic communities and habitats, marine environmental quality, marine fauna and socio-economic receptors. Management and mitigation strategies were identified through the risk and impact assessment process and will help the relevant environmental objective be achieved. Monitoring and verification activities will be in place for the life of the development.

Detail on environmental objectives, management measures and assurance and monitoring activities proposed for the Development are contained in the proposed Browse to NWS Project final EIS and draft ERD.

Further information on Woodside’s environmental management is available here.

As part of the Browse Project, Woodside and the BJV have funded environmental research and studies lead by Australian academic and research organisations to better understand coral reefs, turtles and marine mammals at Scott Reef and the broader north west marine region.

These programs have resulted in more than 70 scientific peer-reviewed publications in international journals over the last 30 years. This knowledge has contributed to the understanding of the marine environment and species of the Browse region and is used in the Browse project evaluation of environmental impacts and risks.

A key contributor to this is the BJV partnership with the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). Woodside first supported AIMS with an extensive survey of coral and fish communities of Scott Reef in 1993. This led to the establishment of a formal Scott Reef Long-term Monitoring Program in 1996, which continues today. As a result of the investment by the BJV and others, Scott Reef has one of the most intensive long-term monitoring programs of any Australian reef system.

The BJV continues to support marine monitoring programs to improve our understanding of turtle and whale activity in the Scott Reef area. These programs involve the use of innovative technology including high-definition satellite imagery and underwater microphones to better understand the marine environment and inform our management plans for any future project activities.

Woodside’s Cultural Heritage Standard sets out how we give effect to the intent of our Indigenous Communities Policy in respect of cultural heritage. It contains our approach to the identification, management and protection of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, with the intent to avoid impacts, or where avoidance is not possible to minimise and manage those impacts. Our policy commits us to ensuring our management of cultural heritage is thorough, transparent and underpinned by consultation and continued engagement with Indigenous communities. Woodside has engaged with Indigenous stakeholders regarding the Browse to NWS Project over a number of years.

Woodside understands that large areas of now-submerged land on Australia’s continental shelf would have been exposed and inhabited in the past. No registered Aboriginal sites are located within the proposed Browse to NWS Project development area. As part of project planning activities, Woodside will investigate the potential for Aboriginal archaeological material that may remain on the sea floor from a time when sea levels were lower, including through the mapping of seabed features from the ancient landscape. This work will inform project implementation so that underwater cultural heritage is identified, protected and managed.

Theoretical impacts on rock art from atmospheric emissions resulting from the onshore processing of the Browse gas by the NWS JV are addressed through state and federal conditions for the North West Shelf Project Extension and the associated Air Quality Management Plan.  Woodside recognises the need for further research and supports the multi-year Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program (MRAMP) run by the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation and Western Australian Department of Water and Environmental Regulation.