A $4 billion-plus fertiliser plant proposed on the Burrup Peninsula has received ministerial approval, moving entrepreneur Vikas Rambal’s dream project a step closer.
A $4 billion-plus fertiliser plant proposed on the Burrup Peninsula has received ministerial approval, moving entrepreneur Vikas Rambal’s dream project a step closer.
Mr Rambal chairs Perdaman Group, which is planning to build a 2 million tonne per annum urea and ammonia plant in the Burrup Strategic Industrial Area near Karratha.
Perdaman’s plans were boosted late last year when Woodside Petroleum approved the Scarborough gas project, which will be processed on the Burrup at the planned Pluto Train 2 LNG project.
The domestic gas commitment for Scarborough is contracted to Perdaman for the Burrup plant, with the gas the key input for the production of urea.
This week, the state Minister for the Environment Reece Whitby signed off on the fertiliser plant.
The project will cover about 100 hectares.
The documents show Perdaman will operate a 100 megawatt gas turbine and 3.5MW of solar power, although Woodside is also pursuing 100MW of solar capacity nearby, partly to supply Perdaman.
The two big environmental approvals on the Burrup, Perdaman and Woodside’s Pluto, come after ongoing discussion about the impact of heavy industry in the area.
The peninsula is home to the Murujuga Cultural Landscape, on a tentative world heritage list.
The landscape includes about 1 million pieces of ancient Aboriginal rock art.
In 2018, Greens member of the Legislative Council Robin Chapple asked for a review of the potential impact of the urea plant, and a proposed Coogee methanol plant, on the rock art.
The EPA documents show Perdaman reduced its development envelope to avoid Aboriginal heritage sites, and will relocate others, with the company having support from the local Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation.
The ministerial approval contains clauses requiring that air emissions from the proposed plant have no adverse impact on the rock art.
