Woodside Energy announced on Monday that it has resumed operations at the Scarborough LNG project, located 375 kilometers off the Pilbara coast of Western Australia. The project, which is nearly complete, was halted for a weekend after two Greenpeace activists boarded the facility, prompting a temporary pause in commissioning work. The activists were safely removed and charged with interfering with offshore petroleum operations, a crime that could result in up to 10 years in prison.
The Scarborough project, with a total cost of $12.5 billion, is set to produce 8 million tons of LNG annually and supply 6 million cubic meters of natural gas to the domestic market. Originally scheduled for commissioning before the end of the year, the protest may delay the project's timeline, according to Woodside's statement. The company aims to deliver its first LNG cargo in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The project includes the construction of Pluto Train 2, modifications to Pluto Train 1, and the development of an Integrated Remote Operations Centre in Perth. The facility is 98% complete and features a floating production unit with 13 wells planned over its operational life. The disruption highlights ongoing tensions between energy development and environmental activism in Australia.
Despite the setback, Woodside remains committed to its timeline, emphasizing the importance of the project for both domestic energy supply and global LNG exports. The incident underscores the challenges faced by major energy projects in navigating regulatory and environmental hurdles. The company is now focused on resuming full operations as quickly as possible.