PERTH, March 31, 2026, 04:14 AWST
- Woodside is withdrawing its current Browse CCS referral from the federal approvals process, with plans to resubmit it under the revised EPBC Act.
- Federal filings show the plan intends to inject 3 to 4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, cutting emissions from the Browse-to-North West Shelf project by about 47%.
Woodside Energy plans to resubmit its Browse carbon capture and storage (CCS) proposal after pulling its initial application from Australia’s federal approval process. The company pointed to updated environmental laws that open the door for a fresh referral, keeping this pillar of its larger Browse gas project in play.
Woodside baked in a CCS solution for Browse from the outset, aiming to capture reservoir CO2 that would otherwise vent to atmosphere. The development also hooks into the North West Shelf LNG network, which only got the federal environmental go-ahead through 2070 last year.
Woodside’s Browse CCS plan has now been flagged as withdrawn on the federal EPBC public portal. Still, a company spokesperson said Woodside remains committed to a “transparent and robust environmental assessment process,” with intentions to resubmit “as soon as practicable.” The first EPBC reform measures took effect in Australia on Feb. 20, after the bills cleared parliament in late November. EPBC Act Public Portal
Referral documents show Browse CCS is targeting annual injections of 3 to 4 million tonnes of CO2 into the Calliance Storage Formation—about 425 km north of Broome and buried some 4 km under the sea floor. The documents specify a goal to capture at least 85% of reservoir CO2 from the Browse-to-North West Shelf project. Over its lifetime, the system could cut greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 53 million tonnes, or 47%.
In February, Liz Westcott—now at the helm of Woodside—assured analysts the “Browse joint venture remains committed.” Still, she highlighted two issues: ironing out commercial terms with the North West Shelf venture and clearing environmental hurdles. The CCS refiling? It’s not an outlier; just one more turn in this commercial and regulatory maze. Woodside
Woodside isn’t alone in rethinking its approach to storage following the new rules. Inpex signaled in January it would reapply for approval of its 8 million-tonne-per-year Bonaparte CCS project under the revised legislation—a clear sign that the regulatory overhaul has stalled several significant gas-driven carbon storage projects nationwide.
Australia hasn’t seen many large-scale CCS projects get off the ground. As of January, Reuters counted just two in commercial operation: Santos’ Moomba site, which has a 1.7 million tonne capacity, and Chevron-backed Gorgon at 4 million tonnes a year. Gorgon’s actual storage for the latest period was notably lower at 1.3 million tonnes.
LNG supplies have tightened recently. Reuters reported last week that cyclone damage knocked out Woodside’s North West Shelf and disrupted both Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone plants. If Australia can’t restore output quickly, MST Marquee’s Saul Kavonic said the outages risk “exacerbate gas market tightness in Asia and Europe.” Reuters
But delays are on the horizon. Woodside’s capital markets slides highlight three separate Federal Court challenges to the federal approval for the North West Shelf extension, along with a Supreme Court case in Western Australia aimed at the state’s go-ahead. Environmental approval remains a swing factor for Browse, the company notes.
Woodside hasn’t committed to a firm timeline for its next referral, just noting that a refiling is “coming soon.” The clear trigger will be a fresh application showing up on the federal portal—if that appears, Browse remains in play. Without it, the project faces the prospect of yet another drawn-out approval process. Reuters
