Woodside Energy CEO Meg O’Neill renews call for certainty over future of North West Shelf

Woodside chief Meg O’Neill has declared she’s satisfied both major parties are backing gas heading into the Federal Election, while the company has given an early signal of the impact from Donald Trump’s trade chaos.

Ms O’Neill reiterated calls for certainty over the future of the North West Shelf Karratha Gas Plant, which she said would support thousands of jobs and pay billions of dollars in taxes.

Plans to run the gas export plant until 2070 were given approval by the State Government in December following six years of assessment.

But the future of the Woodside-operated gas plant hangs in the balance with Federal regulators delaying a decision to assess whether the environmental impact of two associated projects — Browse and carbon capture — need to be considered.

The Albanese Government pushed out a final decision to May 31, after environmental groups lodged protests legally requiring the expanded review.

That has heightened speculation that the plant — which Woodside wants to run until 2070 — will become a bargaining chip in the event of a hung parliament.

“As Australia approaches a federal election, it is encouraging to see both major parties recognising the essential role of gas in supporting national prosperity and a stable energy transition,” Ms O’Neill said on Wednesday.

“We look forward to certainty for ongoing operations at the North West Shelf beyond 2030, to enable it to support thousands of direct and indirect jobs, billions of dollars in taxes and royalties, and secure future gas supply to Western Australia.”

It’s a subtle break with much of the industry, however.

Ms O’Neill has previously expressed frustration over delays to the approvals process, declaring the six-year wait “‘mind boggling”.

Lobbyists and analysts slammed the Coalition’s plans to force gas into the east coast market through a reservation scheme, arguing it would add to investor uncertainty. The Federal Labor Government has also come under fire for interventions including a price ceiling.

Woodside made a clear move into the United States market last year through the purchases of the Beaumont Ammonia Plant and Louisiana LNG, seen as a shift of focus to a country with clearer rules for investors.

But the US reputation as open for business has copped a brutal whack in recent weeks with President Donald Trump taking the world on a tariff roller-coaster.

Mr Trump was forced into further embarrassing backflips overnight, retreating on his China trade taxes and walking back criticism of Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell.

LNG has been hit hard, with China banning imports from the US in response to Mr Trump’s big tax whack.

Woodside has indicated about $3 billion of the $25b total cost to build Louisiana LNG would be impacted by tariffs - although it is unclear exactly what tax rate would apply.

“Louisiana LNG has a Foreign-Trade Zone, enabling the project to defer payment of tariffs until completion of each LNG train,” Ms O’Neill said.

“We are assessing the potential impacts of recent tariff announcements and potential further trade measures on Louisiana LNG.

“Around 25 per cent of Louisiana LNG’s estimated capital expenditure is equipment and materials, approximately half of which is currently expected to be sourced from the US.”

Closer to home, the company confirmed it expects first gas from the Scarborough to Pluto Train 2 project in the second half of next year. Scarborough is now 82 per cent complete.

Ms O’Neill said the hull and topsides of the project’s floating production unit were being prepared for integration activities, which were due to get under way this quarter.

The Perth-based oil and gas producer reported a 4 per cent fall in first-quarter production following cyclones that affected the NWS project and unplanned outages at its Pluto LNG plant during the period.

Woodside produced 49.1 million barrels of oil equivalent between January and March, down from 51.4mmboe in the previous quarter.

Revenue was down 5 per cent for the quarter to $US3.32 billion ($5.2b) due to lower production and a fall in oil and gas prices.

But that was still 13 per cent higher than a year earlier as production from its Sangomar oilfields off the coast of Senegal started following through.

Woodside also reported that its Scarborough LNG project off WA was now 82 per cent complete and remained on track for first cargoes in the second half of 2026.

Ms O’Neill said the hull and topsides of the project’s floating production unit were being prepared for integration activities.

Woodside maintained full-year guidance of 186 to 196mmboe and unit costs of between $US8.50 and $US9.20.