WWF objects to gas project on coral reef

CONSERVATION group WWF Australia says the development of a gas project on a coral reef off the Western Australian coast will spark global outrage.

Woodside Petroleum is considering building a processing plant on Scott Reef for its $12 billion Browse gas project.

The company said yesterday it might build a lagoon-based plant on the reef, halfway between Indonesia and the Kimberley coast rather than a facility on the environmentally-sensitive coast.

But WWF Australia chief executive Greg Bourne said his organisation did not believe there was any place for a gas plant in such a sensitive area.

"We do not believe that everywhere can be up for grabs ... some places are indeed off limits," Mr Bourne told the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) conference.
"Coral reef systems such as this represent an important and increasingly threatened marine ecosystem.

"To construct a facility there would attract global attention, generate global outrage."

Mr Bourne said he wanted Australian oil and gas operators to be known for their legacy of sensible development and environmental leadership.
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