Woodside Energy: Pluto LNG plant near Karratha in emergency shutdown

Woodside Energy’s massive Pluto LNG plant on the Burrup Peninsula was shut down on Monday and the cause is still under investigation. Pluto processes about 5 million tonnes of natural gas annually at the site near Dampier in the Pilbara, exporting the liquefied fuel to buyers across Asia. The Perth-based company confirmed late on Monday that the facility had been switched offline. “Earlier today, Woodside safely shut down the Pluto LNG facility due to an unplanned event that is under investigation,” a spokesman said. “To maintain safety at the site, manual depressurisation of the train and offshore facilities was completed, leading to visible smoke from the flare. “All personnel on site are safe and accounted for.” Operations at the nearby Karratha Gas Plant — owned by the North West Shelf Venture and located just up the road — “continue as normal,” the spokesman said. Woodside is building a new processing train at Pluto in a $19 billion project that will receive gas from the Scarborough field off the State’s North West coast.