Community members have staged a colourful protest at oil and gas developer Buru Energy’s annual general meeting in Perth today, accusing the company of a lack of transparency over its failure to refer its west Kimberley projects to WA’s environment watchdog.
Groups working to protect the Kimberley are aware Buru Energy’s projects are at advanced planning stages, yet have not been referred to the state’s EPA.
Photos and a video of the protest are available here.
Buru Energy’s planned Kimberley projects include:
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Re-opening its polluting Ungani oil production facility and trucking oil through Broome or Derby for export;
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Opening a new conventional gas project, Rafael and producing LNG and condensate (light oil) for local use and/or export;
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Constructing new roads and pipelines;
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Potentially recommencing fracking at its Yulleroo gas lease near Broome.
Lock the Gate Alliance WA spokesperson Claire McKinnon said, “Buru Energy wants to industrialise the west Kimberley with fossil fuel projects yet none of the company’s drilling plans have been referred to the WA environment watchdog in over a decade.
“We’re really concerned Buru Energy’s oil and gas projects will go under the radar unless they are referred for assessment and full public scrutiny.
“Buru Energy’s planned oil and gas projects would have a devastating impact on the Kimberley’s unique environment. Buru Energy has already faced criticism for bulldozing so much habitat in the Kimberley for grid seismic testing that if the clearing was arranged in a straight line, it would stretch more than halfway around the world.”
Environs Kimberley Executive Director Martin Pritchard said, “Buru Energy’s planned projects would result in the fossil fuel industrialisation of the Kimberley - a region that is famous around the world for its pristine nature. These projects would also use massive amounts of groundwater and emit huge volumes of climate pollution.
“Buru Energy also holds the Yulleroo unconventional gas field, where it has previously fracked and has not ruled out fracking there again in the future.
“The Kimberley has the largest most intact tropical savannah in the world and our aquifers, wetlands and waterways are pollution free, we need to make sure we keep it that way and fossil fuel projects are not compatible with our region.
“A full EPA assessment should be conducted to properly consider the individual, combined and cumulative environmental and social impacts of Buru Energy’s stated fossil fuel industrialisation plans.”
ENDS