The future through a 'crystal ball'

When the final decision is made on processing LNG at Prices Point, the week of August (2nd - 7th) 2009 could prove to be very significant. During this time, the Port Authority in Broome negotiated 15 hectares for Woodside to provide a supply base for the Browse Basin gas and Peter Garrett discussed the LNG site at Prices Point with the Traditional owners. Peter Garrett has a long history of rapport with Aboriginal people here in Broome going back to when he performed on the McAlpine PCYC oval over ten years ago.

It seems logical that he would have been very open to the viewpoints presented by the KLC and the Traditional owners who see the LNG project as the window for delivering a range of benefits to the Aboriginal people including housing, health and education.
Peter Garrett will make the final decision in mid 2010 and it is also clear that Martin Ferguson, the Federal Minister for Mines and Energy, is fully supportive of using Prices Point for the LNG hub.

The environmental impact study will not be helped by the widespread bush fires that have once again burnt the vine thickets and surrounding bush in the Prices Point area in early August 2009.

The arrival of Lord McAlpine in the mid 80's marked the start of major development in Broome when the population was less than 5000. If the LNG gas hub is given the green light, we can expect another dramatic impact on Broome and the environment, similar to the outcomes experienced in the Pilbara. The population, housing prices and rents will go through the roof and Broome will take on a much more industrial character.

It's a shame that 'progress' demands that the natural environment which has been untouched for millions of years is sacrificed and what we once enjoyed and loved will be gone forever.

Kimberley whale survey shows highest numbers near proposed LNG hub

An aerial whale survey off the Kimberley coast has recorded the highest population numbers of Humpback Whales in the near vicinity of James Price Point - a site proposed for a massive industrial LNG gas processing facility.

The whale survey conducted on the weekend (29/30 August) with the assistance of Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures and The Wilderness Society recorded a staggering 162 Humpback whales in 102 separate pods between Gourdon Bay in the south to the Lacepede Islands in the north, with the highest concentration recorded in the vicinity of the proposed industrial site at James Price Point. (source - Richard Costin and Environs Kimberley)

What a 'price' to pay!

The 3,500 hectare gas processing plant at James Price Point would need two 125 megawatt power stations, a desalination plant, an airport and a town for 3,500 construction workers, as well as a new port capable of accommodating gas super-tankers at an environmentally sensitive site in the Kimberley.
The industrial site has been proposed for an area previously earmarked by government for a national park. A number of internationally threatened species, including Humpback Whales, endangered Turtles, Dugong, Snub-fin Dolphin and Sawfish would be at risk from the dredging and blasting of reefs and seagrass beds for a new port, as well as from the huge increase in shipping.
The Federal Minister for the Environment will make a decision in mid-2010 about whether or not the gas proposal can go ahead in the Kimberley,’ said Mr Pritchard.
(Excerpts from the press release August 3rd of Martin Pritchard – Environs Kimberley)

The K.L.C. wants action on royalties

The Kimberley Land Council has urged the Venture Partners who are opposed to bringing gas onshore in the Kimberley to resolve their differences concerning the $30 Billion LNG gas project at Prices Point so that the promised $1.5 Billion in benefits such as jobs, housing and health care can be delivered to the Traditional owners. The K.L.C. is also seeking $1 Billion in separate royalties from the Federal Government to raise living standards of the local Aboriginal people. A quick resolution seems unlikely on both issues. (Based on an article by Andrew Burrell in the Financial Review - August 2009)

Piping LNG to the Pilbara or a floating facility

A subsea pipeline to the Pilbara is Woodside Petroleum’s main option for the $30 billion Browse LNG project if it cannot convince its wavering partners to support an onshore plant at James Price Point. Mr Barnett said the government would not grant the necessary approvals, such as pipeline easements, for such a plan to proceed. And though the state government would have no jurisdiction to stop the alternative of a floating LNG facility at Browse, he said the technology was only suitable for smaller LNG projects, such as Shell’s proposed $3 billion Prelude FLNG venture nearby. Nonetheless, Shell and Woodside have in the past identified FLNG technology as a possible option for both the Browse project and the big but remote Sunrise LNG project in the Timor Sea. Mr Barnett said it was time Woodside’s Browse partners – Chevron, Shell, BHP Billiton and BP – accept reality and back the Kimberley hub. Chevron and Shell are understood to be the main parties still unconvinced that the onshore hub is the best option,(Excerpts from WA Business News 30th July 2009)

Whale sightings at Prices Point

Richard Costin and observers on MV Odyssey observed Humpback whales feeding off the Kimberley coast on Friday the 24th of July 2009, 7 nautical miles from James Price Point. Not previously thought to feed in Kimberley waters, the whales were observed feeding with a pod of 20 Pilot Whales, 3 Bottlenose Dolphins and flocks of sea birds. Mr Costin and his partner, Annabelle Sandes, from Kimberley Whale Watching, have spent the last three years studying and filming the Kimberleyʼs Humpback Whales and other cetaceans.
In total 23 pods representing 43 whales were observed between Broome and James Price Point, over a three and a half hour period. This represents 12.28 whales per hour of sighting effort.

Woodside wants action at Prices Point

Woodside Petroleum it seems will consider putting pressure on the Federal Government to strip its multinational Venture Parters including Cheron and Shell of their Browse Basin liquefied natural gas leases if an agreement cannot be reached. These leases expired in December 2008 and are up for renewal. Federal Resources Minister, Martin Ferguson, has threatened that companies cannot sit on valuable gas reserves without developing them. Woodside is the principal developer with a 50% stake in Browse gas. Chevron, Shell, BHP Billiton and BP make up the remaining 50%. Martin Ferguson supports developing Browse gas at Prices Point but what clout has Peter Garrett, the Environmental Minister, in the final decision? The proposal has yet to be approved; the environmental assessment of the project will not be completed until late 2010. Already the proposed construction date, if the project gets the go ahead, has shifted from 2011 to 2013.
(based on an article in the West Australian July 3rd 2009)