Greenpeace Protest Halts Work at Woodside’s $12.5B Gas Facility

**Greenpeace Protest Temporarily Halts Operations at Woodside’s $12.5 Billion LNG Project**

Two Greenpeace activists were arrested off the coast of Western Australia following a protest that forced a pause in operations at Woodside Energy’s $12.5 billion Scarborough LNG platform. Local authorities charged both individuals with interfering with offshore petroleum installations, an offense carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The activists boarded and occupied the floating facility overnight to protest a related Woodside venture—the estimated $34 billion Browse project, which aims to develop Australia’s largest untapped natural gas field. Environmental groups argue the development threatens a nearby coral reef ecosystem home to an endangered whale species. Woodside has denied these claims, asserting that its operations will not affect the reef.

The Scarborough development is currently 98% complete and was scheduled to begin operations before the end of the year. Once operational, it is expected to produce approximately 8 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas annually, alongside 6 million cubic meters of gas designated for domestic use. However, Woodside warned that the disruption and ongoing operational pause could delay the project’s launch.

A Woodside spokesperson criticized the protest, stating that the activists’ actions created safety hazards for personnel and the surrounding marine environment, while forcing local authorities to deploy significant resources to manage the incident.