Two Greenpeace activists have been removed from an offshore drilling rig at Woodside’s Scarborough gas site in Western Australia and taken into police custody.
The pair had spent the night on the 70,000-tonne floating platform after climbing on to it at about 5.45am on Saturday. The site is 375km off the coast of Karratha.
They were protesting against what Greenpeace described as environmental threats to nearby Scott Reef. Australian Border Force officers led the operation to remove them, after Woodside and Western Australia Police directed enquiries to the agency.
Greenpeace said a police helicopter landed on the rig and the activists removed themselves from their equipment before being taken into custody. No charges had been laid as of Sunday afternoon, the organisation said.
David Ritter, chief executive of Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said the protest had highlighted what he called an unacceptable risk to Scott Reef.
“Our activists are highly trained and experienced in these activities,” he said.
Woodside rejected the characterisation of the action as peaceful, saying it had endangered the activists, company staff, contractors, law enforcement responders and the surrounding facility and environment.
“The activists’ conduct is not peaceful. It is dangerous, reckless and illegal,” a company spokesperson said.
Scarborough gas project nearing completion
The Scarborough Energy Project is 98 per cent complete and is expected to produce its first liquefied natural gas by the end of 2026. Its initial stage includes eight wells, with 13 planned to be drilled over the life of the field.
The floating production unit arrived at the site in mid-January after being towed slowly from China. The activists travelled to the location aboard Greenpeace’s flagship vessel, the Rainbow Warrior.
Captain Hettie Geenen described watching the pair climb the structure as “powerful”. She said the ship had sailed to Scott Reef before the protest, allowing the crew to see what she called an untouched reef ecosystem filled with marine life.
