Protestors block Pilbara road over massive Woodside gas project

The massive Scarborough gas development is Australia's largest in a decade. Protestors have sealed themselves in cement to prevent access to the site.

Three people have cemented themselves to barrels inside the caravan, which blocks the main Burrup road in the Pilbara. Source: Supplied

Three protestors have cemented themselves inside a white caravan cutting off access to major industrial plants on the Pilbara's Burrup Peninsula, in protest over Woodside's massive Scarborough gas hub development.

It comes amid reports that the gas giant is negotiating with Traditional Owners through the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation (MAC) for a stake in the $16.5 billion project.

The development is Australia's largest new gas project in a decade.

Comment is being sought from MAC Chief Executive Peter Jeffries and Woodside about the report.

The protestors set up the blockade at dawn on the only road into the Burrup Peninsula Source: Supplied

Heritage fears

There are fears over the potential impact of the project on the highly significant collection of ancient Aboriginal rock engravings in nearby Murujuga National Park.

The gallery, containing more than a million petroglyphs, some more than 45,000 years old, is currently being considered for admission to the World Heritage List.

In protest, a car and caravan have blocked Burrup Road, the only road into the Burrup industrial area, containing the Karratha Gas Plant, the Pluto LNG plant, Yara Fertilisers and the Port of Dampier.

Protestors Petrina and Elizabeth. Source: Supplied

One of the protestors, Petrina, said she had cemented herself to a barrel to "stand with traditional custodians and shut down Scarborough Gas".

"It is bigger than Adani and it’s the most polluting fossil fuel project in Australia," she said in a statement distributed by the Scarborough Gas Action Alliance.

The protest has caused a large traffic jam, with workers on their way to and from the industrial hub halted.

A spokesperson for Woodside said the protestors' actions "compromises the safety of people who are completing shifts at Woodside and other facilities on the Burrup Peninsula".

"Woodside respects people’s rights to protest peacefully and lawfully but actions such as these that endanger the safety of others go beyond those rights," the spokesperson said in a statement.

"Our teams are currently maintaining safe operations at our facilities while access to and from our sites, and others, is rectified."