Woodside Energy’s Scarborough LNG project remains on course to ship its first cargo in the fourth quarter of 2026, chief executive Liz Westcott has said, while declining to guarantee that the company’s long-delayed Browse gas proposal will go ahead.
The update leaves Scarborough advancing towards production as planned, but highlights continuing uncertainty over Browse, a separate offshore development intended to supply the North West Shelf project in Western Australia.
Woodside said Scarborough was 98 per cent complete at the end of the first half of the year. First gas has since flowed from the field, while the final and heaviest module for modifications to Pluto LNG’s Train 1 facility was delivered to the Karratha site this week.
The Scarborough development includes an offshore floating production unit, a 430km pipeline and the construction of Pluto Train 2. Gas from the field, located about 375km off the Pilbara coast, will be processed at the existing Pluto LNG facility.
Browse remains at an early stage
Ms Westcott said Browse was still in the pre-front-end engineering and design phase, with Woodside assessing costs, construction schedules and the design work required to make the project commercially viable.
The company is also pursuing environmental approvals and holding discussions with the Browse joint venture partners and the North West Shelf participants. Ms Westcott stopped short of setting out a final investment decision or confirming that the proposal would proceed.
Browse would develop the Calliance, Brecknock and Torosa gas fields in the Browse Basin, about 425km north of Broome, and transport the gas to existing processing facilities in Karratha. Woodside operates the project and holds a 30.6 per cent interest.
In June, Woodside exercised its pre-emption rights to acquire PetroChina’s 10.67 per cent stake in the Browse joint venture, preserving its ability to shape the project’s future while the commercial and regulatory work continues.
For now, the company’s immediate focus is on completing commissioning and start-up work at Pluto and delivering the first LNG cargo from Scarborough before the end of 2026.
