Western Australia's forcible land acquisition for gas pipeline runs into legal hurdles
04 Sep 2010
According to the Australian green group Environs Kimberley, Western Australian (WA) premier, Colin Barnett's decision to forciblyly acquire land north of Broom violates agreements with the Commonwealth and Traditional Owners and has 'unleashed a quagmire of legal battles.'
Martin Pritchard director, citing a JP Morgan report which found that piping gas from the Browse Basin south to the Pilbara was a far more cost-effective deal for Woodside and its joint venture partners said that the acquisition is unnecessary.
He said that what would probably happen is that the decision for the compulsory acquisition of land and development at James Price Point would be delayed even further adding to the likelihood that the gas could be piped to the Pilbara.
As regards further legal battles, the president of the National Native Title Tribunal has dropped hints that the acquisition could be blocked.
The process of compulsory land acquisition is likely to take up to 18 months.
Oil and gas giant Woodside, which holds several tenements in the Browse Basin off the Kimberley coast intends to use the LNG precinct at James Price Point.
In a statement, the company said "The State Government's decision to acquire the land will maintain the opportunity for a negotiated outcome to be secured with Traditional Owners, while providing a greater degree of certainty for the development."
