Tony Burke, the Australian Minister for Environment, has given his environmental seal of approval for Shell’s 100 percent owned and operated Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas Project, to be located off the northwest coast of Australia. As with every government “go-ahead,” there are conditions involved.

The Prelude Project is planned to be the first to deploy Shell’s Floating LNG (FLNG) technology which processes the gas at the site of the gas field rather than piping the gas hundreds of kilometers to shore. By reducing the cost of a development, FLNG can provide a means of developing smaller and more remote offshore gas resources that may otherwise stay in the ground.

“While there are significant economic benefits to these projects, which must be a consideration in my decision, my focus has been on protecting environmental matters,” Burke said.

“Deploying our Floating LNG technology reduces the Project’s cost and environmental footprint, as it removes the need for offshore compression platforms, long pipelines to shore, nearshore works such as dredging and jetty construction, and onshore development such as building roads, laydown areas and accommodation facilities,” Royal Dutch Shell Australia chairman Ann Pickard said.

Burke said that Shell must develop a greenhouse gas strategy, which must be made publicly available, that will detail the measures and offsets it proposes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as measures to reduce light pollution, address noise impacts, manage introduced marine pests, and minimize waste.

“Shell will also be required to submit—and make publicly available—an environmental performance report detailing how it has adhered to the approved plans and strategies, and my department will be able to audit the project at any time to ensure the company is complying with the approval conditions,” Burke said.