Woodside Lobbying Raises Concerns Ahead of Key Browse Project Decision
PERTH, Monday 23 February 2026 — New information regarding Woodside’s North West Shelf gas extension reveals a pattern of lobbying aimed at influencing environmental conditions, raising questions about the company’s trustworthiness as a key decision looms for its controversial Browse project.
Documents released under Freedom of Information laws, published today by Nine Papers, demonstrate that Woodside actively lobbied the federal government to weaken stipulations attached to its North West Shelf project in September. This comes as the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) prepares to deliver its recommendation on the Browse project, a crucial component of the broader North West Shelf development.
The EPA was reportedly poised to reject the Browse plans in 2024, citing “unacceptable impacts” on Scott Reef, Australia’s largest oceanic reef system. The revelation, also obtained through Freedom of Information requests, underscores the high stakes surrounding the project and the potential for environmental damage.
Gemma Plesman, Senior Campaigner at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, expressed deep concern over Woodside’s conduct. “How was Woodside able to self-appoint as the judge, jury and executor of the North West Shelf, one of Australia’s dirtiest and most polluting fossil fuel projects?” Plesman stated. “The level of influence and interference is chilling and is a sign of what to expect from Woodside. Woodside has been playing dirty, attempting to write its own rules about one of the most consequential and controversial fossil fuel projects on Australia’s books.”
The EPA’s upcoming recommendation is particularly significant given Woodside’s repeated revisions to its Browse plans, most recently in 2025. Despite these changes, the company still intends to drill more than 50 gas wells in the vicinity of Scott Reef. Greenpeace warns that these plans continue to pose a threat to vulnerable marine species, including endangered pygmy blue whales and green turtles, as well as carrying the risk of oil spills, seismic blasting, and reef degradation.
“All eyes are now on the WA EPA, which is about to hand down its recommendation on the Browse project,” Plesman continued. “Woodside can’t be trusted. It has been desperately trying and failing for years to get Browse off the ground and will do anything it can to push the plans ahead, and the North West Shelf scandal is proof. The EPA must recommend rejecting this proposal, and the WA government must put an end to this shoddy project.”
The North West Shelf project itself involves the processing of gas, requiring extraction from various sources. Concerns have also been raised regarding the potential impact on ancient Murujuga rock art, as reported by CNN in May 2025, which is threatened by industrial pollution from the Karratha Gas Plant.
The situation highlights a broader debate about fossil fuel expansion in Australia and its implications for climate change, as well as the influence of powerful corporations on environmental policy. The Albanese government has faced calls to address climate risk assessments, according to a recent Facebook post by The Saturday Paper.