Woodside Stops Browse Drilling

Woodside Petroleum will stop drilling at its Browse gas project in Western Australia's Kimberley region until a court dispute about planning approvals is resolved, AAP has reported.

Richard Hunter, a member of the indigenous Goolarabooloo people, has alleged an approval granted to Woodside in February was invalid because the Kimberley Joint Development Assessment Panel did not wait to receive an official report from the Shire of Broome, the report said.

An injunction was applied for by Hunter in Perth’s Supreme Court to stop work but both parties agreed before appearing in court today to drop the injunction on the condition Woodside would not undertake drilling. The company also agreed to not do work in the beach or dune area.

AAP said that Perth's Court of Appeal will determine whether the approvals were valid, with a directions hearing scheduled for June 15.