Emissions and Qatar are neglected risks in Woodside’s Scarborough LNG project

Emissions and Qatar are neglected risks in Woodside’s Scarborough LNG project

Investors are in the dark about the financial implications of emissions from Woodside Petroleum's proposed Scarborough liquefied natural gas (LNG) development at the North West Shelf offshore Western Australia, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA)

Woodside has yet to release its carbon price sensitivity modelling, finds a new report by Sydney-based analysts at IEEFA. With the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) enforcing continuous disclosure provisions, gas companies must release modelling on carbon price sensitivity, said the IEEFA.

IEEFA analyst Bruce Robertson said that gas companies, such as Woodside, must be pushed by the ASX into disclosure of their modelling. Anglo-Australian giant BHP also owns a share of the Scarborough project.

“Carbon pricing is inevitable in Australia,” said Robertson.

Significantly, “we now live in a world where globally all of Australia's major LNG trading partners including China, Japan and South Korea, plus the US and Europe have net zero commitments,” said IEEFA.

“Carbon tariffs are being introduced by the European Union in 2023 and the US is looking at similar mechanisms.”

The EU is planning a carbon border tax which would require global exporters to the EU – the world's biggest trading bloc – to pay the tax or introduce