Greenpeace occupation halts Woodside Scarborough platform work

Two Greenpeace activists were charged with interfering with an offshore petroleum installation after a weekend occupation of Woodside Energy's Scarborough floating production unit off Western Australia forced the company to suspend pre-commissioning work.

Why it matters: Scarborough, a 12.5 billion dollar project that was 98 percent complete at the end of June with first LNG targeted for the fourth quarter, is now facing protest pressure aimed at Woodside's separate 34 billion dollar Browse development near Scott Reef.

Data as of Monday, October 19, 2026, 03:45 ET. Developing item. The charges, the occupation timeline and the joint agency statement are from Splash247 on October 19, 2026, read in full; the project cost, completion and production figures and Woodside's response are from OilPrice.com the same day, read in full, citing ABC and Reuters reporting.

Four activists from Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior scaled the 70,000 tonne Scarborough unit, about 375 kilometres off the Pilbara coast, on Saturday, and two spent the night in tents suspended from the structure before police removed them by helicopter on Sunday, Splash247 reported. In a joint statement on Monday, the Australian Border Force, Western Australia Police and the offshore regulator NOPSEMA said two men, aged 48 and 52, had been charged with interfering with operations of offshore petroleum installations, an offence carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, and were due before Karratha Magistrates Court on Monday. Woodside confirmed it paused pre-commissioning work after the unauthorised access and called the action dangerous, reckless and illegal, while Greenpeace said the protest was peaceful and aimed at pressuring the government to reject the Browse development.

Greenpeace occupation halts Woodside Scarborough platform work

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