❓ Opposition asks about the location of Browse gas processing (James Price Point vs. Karratha) and the associated benefits package for Aboriginal people. The Premier strongly supports processing at James Price Point to ensure broader regional development and benefits for Aboriginal communities.
AnsweredQoN 414Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
JAMES PRICE POINT — LIQUEFIED
NATURAL GAS PROCESSING
414. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. In
respect of the earlier question, I repeat: will Browse gas be processed at
James Price Point, are industry sources correct that it is increasingly likely
to be piped to Karratha, and what will the benefits package to Aboriginal
people be if it is?
NATURAL GAS PROCESSING
414. Mr M. McGOWAN to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. In
respect of the earlier question, I repeat: will Browse gas be processed at
James Price Point, are industry sources correct that it is increasingly likely
to be piped to Karratha, and what will the benefits package to Aboriginal
people be if it is?
AnswerView source ↗
The government is strongly of the
view, as is the federal government, that the gas from the Browse development be
processed at James Price Point. Bear in mind, there will be not one liquefied
natural gas project, but at least two and maybe three LNG projects, off the
Browse resource, so they cannot all fit into Karratha in that sense. If the gas
were to be piped directly—probably subsea to Karratha—there
would be no additional benefits package for the Aboriginal people of the
Kimberley because they would not be involved. That is not to say that the
government will not continue to improve education, health and other services in
the area. But there will be no industry package as currently negotiated,
because there will be no relationship between the development and the Kimberley
mainland or the Aboriginal people. This gas is 240 kilometres off the coast.
For the balanced development of this state, it is important that Browse be
developed at James Price Point. I will very briefly give a simple explanation.
If we were to simply pipe that gas to Karratha, we would see a lack of development
of smaller and stranded fields in the Carnarvon basin off the Karratha coast.
There would be no point in exploring and developing them. What we would then
see is an under-investment and a major delay of 10 or more years in the Browse
development itself, because there is still a lot of gas in the Carnarvon basin
that is already committed to the existing infrastructure on the Dampier
Peninsula. If we look in detail at the agreement for the North West Shelf—which,
I admit, I have not done for some time—we can see that it requires
state government agreement to bring third party gas into that infrastructure.
That is why I say that the government has a direct role.
view, as is the federal government, that the gas from the Browse development be
processed at James Price Point. Bear in mind, there will be not one liquefied
natural gas project, but at least two and maybe three LNG projects, off the
Browse resource, so they cannot all fit into Karratha in that sense. If the gas
were to be piped directly—probably subsea to Karratha—there
would be no additional benefits package for the Aboriginal people of the
Kimberley because they would not be involved. That is not to say that the
government will not continue to improve education, health and other services in
the area. But there will be no industry package as currently negotiated,
because there will be no relationship between the development and the Kimberley
mainland or the Aboriginal people. This gas is 240 kilometres off the coast.
For the balanced development of this state, it is important that Browse be
developed at James Price Point. I will very briefly give a simple explanation.
If we were to simply pipe that gas to Karratha, we would see a lack of development
of smaller and stranded fields in the Carnarvon basin off the Karratha coast.
There would be no point in exploring and developing them. What we would then
see is an under-investment and a major delay of 10 or more years in the Browse
development itself, because there is still a lot of gas in the Carnarvon basin
that is already committed to the existing infrastructure on the Dampier
Peninsula. If we look in detail at the agreement for the North West Shelf—which,
I admit, I have not done for some time—we can see that it requires
state government agreement to bring third party gas into that infrastructure.
That is why I say that the government has a direct role.
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