Traditional Owners Oppose Woodside Expansion Amid 1998 Deal Dispute

Traditional owner partners with a decades-long relationship with Woodside have publicly opposed the energy company's proposed $50 billion Browse expansion project. The opposition unfolds as renegotiations have stalled over a confidential 1998 land access agreement that established the North West Shelf joint venture, located over 1,530 kilometres north of Perth.

Speaking publicly for the first time, senior present and former members of the Ngarluma-Yindjibarndi Foundation Limited (NYFL) criticised the signing of the historic document. NYFL director and elder Ricky Smith stated that country is the primary concern for their people, emphasising the desire to protect the land from destruction or damage.

According to NYFL representatives, elders who were unable to read or write faced pressure to sign the original deal. Woodside responded by stating it accepts that standards have evolved over time, but the company rejected allegations that elders experienced pressure during the signing process.

The 1998 agreement governs the Karratha Gas Plant, a facility responsible for processing 14 per cent of Western Australia's domestic gas. The construction of this major oil and gas infrastructure preceded the land access agreement by more than a decade, following the demolition of numerous sacred Indigenous sites in the area.

Woodside aims to secure future gas production for its facilities by developing the Browse Basin off the Kimberley coast and transporting the resources to the Karratha Gas Plant through a 900-kilometre pipeline. NYFL representatives tabled a new agreement during a meeting with Woodside executives last November, seeking $30 million annually over a 10-year period.

In response to the proposal, Woodside countered in May with a $20 million cash offer for the same timeframe, building upon the existing terms established in the 1998 contract. Traditional owners maintain that the ongoing Browse expansion cannot proceed while the current mining agreement remains unfit for purpose.