Endangered turtles and ‘exceptional’ coral at risk from Woodside’s gas drilling in WA, watchdog says
Exclusive: EPA flags oil spill risk from proposed gasfield and threat to pygmy blue whales Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here Woodside Energy’s plan to drill for gas off Western Australia’s north-west coast could significantly damage “exceptional” coral reefs and it may be impossible to reduce the risk of an oil spill to an acceptable level, according to advice from the state’s independent environmental watchdog.
A draft letter from WA’s Environmental Protection Authority written in 2023, seen by the Guardian, sharply criticised Woodside’s proposal to develop the Browse gasfield, saying its plans to protect endangered turtles and blue whales near Scott Reef would be ineffective.
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Sources and context
The GuardianSource headline and summary supplied via NewsData.io. First collected by NewsJaws on 2026-10-27. This is an automated news brief, not original NewsJaws reporting. Dates reflect the source publication. Feed delays may apply.