Location, water requirements, shipping, workers, size, ' Greenhouse emissions' and timeline of the proposed gas hub.

There are two location options for the gas hub if approved:
Option A: North of Prices Point
The distance to the deep water jetty is greater and the land is higher. More blasting and dredging is required. (Public Information Booklet DSD page 13).
Option B: South of Prices Point
Shorter distance to deepwater and the land is lower. Impact to vine thickets.
Less blasting and dredging required.

Water Requirements:
The project would require between 8-16 gigalitres annually (1 gigalitre = 1 billion litres) for the whole precinct. Broome is currently licensed for 8 gigalitres and uses 6 gigalitres annually. Fresh water is likely to come from either desalination of water from the Wallal aquifer or desalination of sea water. The Wallal aquifer is located 200 metres below the ground and is slightly salty. This aquifer is separate to the shallower Broome aquifer that is suitable for drinking.
During construction it is possible that a temporary water supply will be required. It is likely this will be from the Broome aquifer. (Page 75 Public Information Booklet DSD).

Wastewater:
30GL/year wastewater - (process waste water, ancillary equipment such ascondensed water, surface runoff from process areas, sewage and grey water. (Page 12 Marine Wastewater Discharge Modelling Study DHI WATER AND ENVIRONMENT PTY LTD for Woodside).
The treated wastewater will be discharged 2 to 3 kilometres off shore and according to the Public Information booklet DSD page 74 "the discharge poses negligible if any environmental risk."

Shipping:
Overall capacity of 50 million tonnes per year of LNG would mean 900 ships per year or 17 per week or just over 2 per day (Public Information Booklet DSD page 69).

Workers:
Peak construction workforce: 6000 on shore and 2000 offshore (Broome Advertiser page 9 August 18th).
Core workforce: 300 - 500 people for 40 years.
The vaste majority of the construction workforce is likely to be fly-in, fly-out and accommodated with a dedicated camp 5 km from the Coast. (Public Information Booklet DSD page 89)

Workers will probably do a 4 week on 1 week off roster. During the 4 week on period they could work 6 and a half days per week. Organised trips into Broome for shopping, recreation and tourism activities could be organized for the half day off. The many other people who support the village will not be tied to this construction roster and may have other arrangements including the possibility of being local residents of Broome who drive in drive out.
During construction of the Gas facility an extra $350 million expenditure for local business is planned, this does not include the proportion of wages etc that will also flow into the local economy. During the production phases this will drop to around $100 million p.a.

Size:
The proposed gas hub will be the largest in Australia, the second largest in the world and at least 3 times the size of the Karratha LNG plant. ($50 billion project)
2,500 hectares (25 square kilometres) of land (1980 hectares = LNG Processing area + Port land 110 hectares + 200 hectares Light Industrial area) and about 1,000 hectares (10 square kilometres) of sea bed which includes 2 kilometres of coastline. A further 968 hectares of land (10 square kilometres) will be used for the "ancillary' areas of onshore pipelines roads and service.
"The site will be set back 1.5 kilometres from the coast and beach access restrictions will be limited to less than 2 kilometres of coastline." (Shire News Issue 61 August 2011).
"Access to Prices Point and Quandong Point will be maintained throughout the life of the Precinct." (Shire New Issue 61 August 2011).

Greenhouse gas emissions:

"In producing LNG there are two major sources of carbon dioxide (CO2) which is the main greenhouse gas.

The first major source of greenhouse gas emissions relates to the generation of power.
Power is generated in a similar way to a gas fired power station like the one in Broome,
but larger. The exact amount of CO2 will depend on the design of the LNG plant but
would be less than 17 million tonnes of CO2 per annum for the production of 50 million tonnes of LNG per annum"
"The second major source of CO2 comes from the reservoir. This
results in approximately 15 million tonnes of CO2 per annum for 50 million tonnes of LNG per annum. Typically this 'reservoir CO2' will be vented to the atmosphere.
Woodside is investigating the option of reinjecting this CO2 back into a safe underground
formation where the gas will be trapped.
The plant will be designed to meet atmospheric emissions and discharge limits which
protect the health and safety of the community and protect the natural environment. This
will be a requirement of obtaining environmental approval and operating licences which
must be in place prior to the commencement of construction." Public Information Booklet page 82

The $33 billion INPEX liquefied natural gas project in Darwin is expected to increase greenhouse gas emissions in the Northern Territory by 30 per cent and Australian emissions by 1.3%.

Stuart Blanch from the Northern Territory Environment Centre says the project is expected to generate 280 million tonnes of emissions over 40 years.

Production is not expected to begin until 2016 a spokeswoman from Inpex says the company is still assessing greenhouse gas abatement options. (source AM 16th Jan 2012)

Dredging:

"Preliminary estimates indicate a total dredging volume for a southern James Price Point
site to be in the order of 6 to 8 million cubic metres or less than half the volume of the
northern site.
Total dredging volume for a northern James Price Point location would be approximately
15 to 20 million cubic metres". (DSD Information booklet 5.4)

Problems facing project:

"Technical difficulties, very high CO2 content with no abatement plans, environmental and heritage hurdles to jump, joint venture partner reluctance as well as significant local community opposition in Broome which is spreading through the country." (Environs Kimberley Jan 27th 2012).

Timetable.

2011 Geotechnical survey work at JPP

Social Impact Assessment

Complete FEED, Front End Engineering and Design

State and Commonwealth Environment Approvals

2012 Social Impact Management Plan finalised

EPC Contract awarded

Final investment decision (now moved out to 2013)

Plant construction commences

2017 Construction completed

Operations commence

It is estimated that over the past 12 months (2010/2011) Woodside have spent $20mill at over 100 businesses in Broome. This amount does not include sub contracting arrangements or flow on effects

Traditional owners approve gas hub

Agreement was reached on May 6th 2011 between the State Government, Woodside Energy Ltd and the Goolarabooloo Jabirr Jabirr (GJJ) native title claim group for the gas hub at Prices Point.
The Traditional Owners have agreed to relinquish their native title interests in the 3,500ha of land (35 SQUARE KILOMETRES) and water required for the precinct in return for substantial benefits for indigenous people and continuing engagement in environmental and cultural heritage management at the precinct.

The agreement came after 4 years of negotiation.

When the precinct is no longer required the land will be remediated and returned to traditional owners as freehold.

The benefits are valued at more than $1.5billion over 30 years of the Woodside project and include:
· funds to establish businesses and investment
· funds for joint ventures (Indigenous Rangers program and cultural awareness training.) Broome Advertiser July 7th 2011 page 7.
· funds for the building of homes for GJJ and other indigenous people
· funds for education initiatives (literacy and work related programs - Broome Advertiser July 7th 2011.
· land for housing and businesses
· funds to support initiatives to address the social impacts of the precinct
· direct employment through the construction and operation of the precinct ("300 Indigenous jobs during construction" Broome Advertiser July 7th 2011 page 7 and minimum 15% of the work force will be Indigenous when it is operational (Broome Advertiser Nov 10, 2011 page 7)
· indirect employments through businesses maintaining and servicing the precinct
· State Government (Port Authority and LandCorp) and proponent training programs
· State Government (Port Authority and LandCorp) and proponent employment obligations and targets
· contract and tendering opportunities for GJJ buisnesses
· funds to enable traditional owners of the Kimberley to support, promote and protect Aboriginal culture and heritage
· reform of indigenous land tenure on the Dampier Peninsula to allow for home ownership and create economic development opportunities
· funds for the creation and joint management of conservation areas with the State Government (DEC).

"Benefits would be extended to Aboriginal people of the Dampier Peninsula and the wider Kimberley - delivering an unprecedented level of economic independence" Broome Advertiser July 7th 2011 page 4

It is anticipated that this agreement will be expected by the end of June 2011.

There still needs to be pprovals from:
WA Environmental Protection Authority
WA Environment Minister - DECEMBER 2011
Federal Environment Minister - Tony Burke
Woodside's joint venture partners - Shell, BP, BHP Billiton, Chevron
Woodside - Final Investment Decision is not due until April 2012.

Shire approves Woodside camp for Browse

Broome Shire councillors approved Woodside's application for a temporary off site workers camp. The 45 hectare camp (HALF A SQUARE KILOMETRE) location is 15 kilometres from Broome and set 200 metres back from the Broome Derby Highway. It is also the site of the future airport for Broome. Purpose of the camp: 1. Early clearing of land. 2. build a temporary marine off-loading facility at the Browse LNG Precinct. 3. to accommodate workers employed to build the construction village at the Prices Point site. Plans for the camp: 1. accommodation for 600 workers. 2. restaurant and tavern/beer garden.medical, security and emergency response building. 3. recreational facilities - swimming pool and sports court. Timeline: 1.Detailed design phase at present. 2.construction to start if final investment decison is taken expected mid 2012. 3. facility operational 2 years later. The council motion included the condition to return the site to its orgininal state should the gas development at Prices Point not go ahead.

Compulsory acquisition

The WA Government clarified that the area that will be acquired by the State for the gas hub at Prices Point will be 2,500 hectares of the land and about 1,000 hectares of sea bed which includes 2 kilometres of coastline. Around 2500 hectares (25 SQUARE KILOMETRES) will be used for gas processing, accommodation and third party contractors. A further 968 hectares of land will be used for the "ancillary' areas of onshore pipelines roads and services. In Jan 2011 it was reported that the area at Prices Point will be 25 square kilometres comprising 2000 hectares for the plant itself, 1000 hectares for common usage areas, 200 hectares for workers accommodation and 200 hectares for anxillary work for services supporting the precinct. It is disturbing to note that the public were told in 2008 that the Prices Point LNG plant would: ''require a few hundred metres of coastline and about 300 to 400 acres (1 and half square kilometres or 150 hectares) on the land which would not be accessible to the public." (December 20th 2008). Prices Point itself will remain intact with free access for recreational purposes if the plant goes ahead. There will be a track from a sealed road between the Precinct and the Cape Leveque Road.

The federal Environment Minister, Tony Burke, recently extended until June 2011 the consultation period for an assessment of the heritage values of the Kimberley.

Woodside, Shell, Chevron, BHP and BP will not make a final investment decision until at least mid 2012.

Broome - the next Karratha?

In August 2005, Woodside was investigating the viability of the Quandong area for a 500 hectare natural gas plant to service the Browse Basin 400 km north of Broome. The company did the preliminary surveys with the Kimberley Land Council and met with the senior law bosses of the Dampier Peninsula in Sept 2005.

Now that the Federal court has thrown out legal action being taken by Kimberley gas hub opponent, Joseph Roe, traditional owners are continuing to deliberate their next move.

Meanwhile, the Broome Shire President has recently said that if thousands of workers start building a gas hub north of Broome they must be kept in a closed camp.

Broome Shire president Graeme Campbell says the shire expects the gas hub to go ahead and wants to minimise its social impacts on the town.

Woodside says it expects the hub will take five years to build with 6000 workers (Broome Advertiser page 9 August 18th 2011) employed at peak construction. Mr Campbell said the shire was in serious talks with Woodside and the West Australian government about fly-in, fly-out workers being housed in a closed camp at the gas hub site." If they stayed in town, that would be the end of our tourism, because they would fill every bed and every accommodation house at whatever cost."And if large numbers of workers descended on Broome on a Friday night "all hell breaks loose in the town", Mr Campbell said."We are adamant it must be a closed camp."
The plans I've seen for the camp, they have ovals, they have swimming pools, they have taverns, they have recreation facilities, and as part of their contract they won't be leaving the camp," Mr Campbell said."

Mr Campbell said Woodside had agreed that workers transiting through Broome airport or visiting town must be in civvies, not work uniforms.
Workers would also be barred from going to the beach or fishing near local indigenous communities, he said.

But Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) WA construction division secretary Kevin Reynolds said the union opposed a closed camp and restrictions on workers. He said construction companies increasingly wanted to treat workers who lived in construction camps like prisoners."We're even being dictated to what they're going to wear." They're not locked up in a prison camp. Broome is a beautiful town but it's an open town and it's open to anyone, including construction workers," Mr Reynolds said."It's just ludicrous. What are they going to do, put up Gestapo pillboxes and road blocks to check everyone?"

Woodside corporate affairs adviser Paul Ryan said the venture was developing a code of conduct for workers to strike a balance between providing economic opportunities for Broome and minimising social impacts.He would not be drawn on whether the camp would be a closed one but said the code of conduct addressed how workers should behave and dress "in order to fit in with the local culture and lifestyle of Broome".That included workers not wearing work clothes while travelling or when in town after hours.Mr Ryan said fly-in workers would have to abide by beach and fishing restrictions.

(Source AAP)

The fine print details

It is now becoming clearer what impact an LNG gas plant would be on the Peninsula from a physical point of view if the project is approved.
This design was on view at the NW Expo in Broome recently. It is a conceptual layout not necessarily the final design and not to scale. (Used with permission).

• Prices Point and Quandong Point will remain intact with free access for recreational purposes for the life of the precinct. (Shire News Issue 61 August 2011.)



• If given the go ahead, the LNG plant will be located south of Prices Point - it seems at least about a kilometre.



• The fenced area will be approx. 2000 hectares (20 square kilometres or 4942 acres)



• The construction area will be approx. 500 hectares (5 square kilometres or 1235 acres) within the fenced area and located at least 1 kilometre inland from the shore line.



• The area of beach which would be off limits would be approx 1 and half kilometres



• The area of marine impact would be approx. 1000 hectares (10 square kilometres)



• The jetty and loading facilities would be approx. 1 kilometre from the shore line.



• There will be two enviromental impacts to consider (Federal Govt and Woodside) . The Federal Environmental Minister will make clear the Governments recommendations by late 2010.



• The investment decision by Woodside will be made by mid 2012. By this stage all approvals and design work will be completed.



• If all hurdles are cleared, Woodside aim to have construction finished by 2017.



• Woodside aim to generate 600 direct jobs during the ongoing operations phase and up to 5000 direct jobs during peak construction.



• According to LNG literature, noise levels are understood to be low and emissions from the plant also low. Conservationists are concerned by the likelihood of a 600-900 MW power station, a desalination plant and tonnes of carbon dioxide emission into the air .



• Of major concern would be the effects of dredging and blasting on the marine life of that area and the ongoing movements of up to 600 supertankers per year.

It is disturbing to note that the public were told in 2008 that the Prices Point LNG plant would:

''require a few hundred metres of coastline and about 300 to 400 acres (1 and half square kilometres or 150 hectares) on the land which would not be accessible to the public." (December 20th 2008).

SOCIAL IMPACTS ON BROOME:

• The cost of housing - rental properties?



• The availability of medical and dental services which are already under pressure



• 3500-5000 fly in /fly out workers.



• Tourism?

A friend under threat

I was taken by friends along the red, dusty, winding 60 kilometre track to Prices Point early in the wet season of 1979. The bush was lush having been refreshed once more by the annual welcome rain. As we reached our destination the road before us cleared to reveal a pristine panorama of ocean beauty. Beyond us in the distance was an impressive unspoilt tower of red cliffs which hugged the shoreline into the far horizon. Immediately in front of us tranquil, turquoise blue water was filling the beach with an incoming tide. Over the years I had been accustomed to sharing dull green beaches and yellow sand with hordes of holiday makers in Victoria, but today we had this paradise to ourselves. I couldn’t believe the striking, vivid colours contrasting with each other in dazzling array. No wonder I found myself reaching for a camera.

It was on this day that I was introduced to ‘real’ fishing. In no time at all we were walking out across the rocks with 80lb hand lines. As we found a likely spot, I momentarily pondered on the strength of my rig until the reel I was holding was almost ripped from my hands. I clumsily wound in the line which revealed an enormous Blue bone head. Obviously, I hadn’t been quick enough because a shark had neatly chomped the body from behind the gills. From that day on, I was hooked.

Over the past 30 years, I would estimate that I’ve fished and camped at Prices Point well over 200 times and I’d have to say, that place has seldom let me down. The fishing has been unbelievable! Sure it’s mostly been Blue bone, which has got to be one of the best fish in the ocean, but there’s always been an impressive variety of other species too.How you could refer to this area as ‘unremarkable’ is beyond me. Call me weird, but I’m not ashamed to admit that I have been found hugging trees at Prices Point because each time I go there it’s like coming back to an old friend.

On more than one occasion I have walked the Lurrujarri Trail from Prices Point to Quondong with some of the traditional owners. This has helped me come to appreciate the significance of the area which has been preserved in its natural state over thousands of years.The more time you spend at Prices Point the more you see. Individual rocks and rock pools become familiar landmarks in your mind and the corals in the fishing channel are delightful with their variety and beauty. Of course on very low tides you can take your hammer and screw driver out for a feed of oysters.

And there is much more to the area than fishing and camping. Paul Foulkes, a noted local botanist, spent endless hours drawing the unique flora at Prices Point and scouring the rocks for evidence of the dinosaur age. This was back before we ever thought this place could one day be under threat of clearing and dredging.Areas like Prices Point are becoming rare in a world that cries out for industrial development. To have such a peaceful spot at our door step for everyone to enjoy is something to be valued and treasured.I’ve been lucky enough to appreciate Prices Point over many long years, but I’m fearful that the next generation will be looking through a high meshed fence at a massive gas plant.