Scott Reef is one of Australia’s largest oceanic reef systems and is located off the Kimberley coast in Western Australia. It has been a thriving coral reef for 15 million years, providing essential habitat for hundreds of marine species. It is a place where green turtles nest, pygmy blue whales feed, and reef species live in harmony.

Scott Reef 

Scott Reef is home to around 900 differant species of fish, a small sandy island provides nesting grounds for 1,000 green sea turtles and the deep waters surrounding the reef are home to 29 known species of whales and dolphins, including the endangered pygmy blue whale, which travels along the West Australian coast. These whales stop at Scott Reef during their annual migration to feed in the upwellings around the reef.

Scott Reef is a haven for marine life.

Corals' Last Stand 

Corals’ Last Stand is a captivating documentary that tells the critically important story of Scott Reef and the campaign to protect it.

It is told by author and marine conservationist Tim Winton, international musician John Butler and Environs Kimberley Executive Director Martin Pritchard. As well as marine scientists and conservationists working to protect Scott Reef from the oil and gas corporation Woodside’s proposed 50 oil and gas wells.

If you would like to host a screening for your community, friends, or family, let us know! Email: [email protected]

Image: Surgeon fish at Scott Reef By: Alex Westover

Scott Reef's under threat

Scott Reef’s abundant marine life has, over millions of years, contributed to creating vast reserves of oil and gas that have formed beneath the reef. Woodside, Australia’s largest oil and gas company, has proposed drilling up to 50 oil and gas wells around Scott Reef and extracting the resources from beneath the reef. They plan to build a 900 km-long pipeline to connect the Scott Reef–Browse deposit with the North West Shelf (NWS), where the gas will be processed and then mostly exported internationally.

Threats from Woodside’s Browse Gas Development

If Woodside were to get approval to drill at Scott Reef, the ecosystem would face a barrage of industrial impacts, including seismic blasting, gas flaring, underwater noise, artificial lighting, pipe-laying, and fast-moving vessels over years of construction and operation.

With gas wells planned within just a few kilometres of the reef, a blowout would be catastrophic, devastating not only the reef system but also potentially impacting the Kimberley coastline and even reaching Indonesia. In 2009, a blowout at the Montara rig in the Timor Sea saw condensate travel as far as Indonesian Timor, impacting local communities, devastating seaweed farms, and harming countless species of wildlife in the area.

Image: Montara oil spill in 2009, Timor Sea By: Martin Pritchard 

We need everyone to get onboard the campaign to stop Woodside from drilling at Scott Reef. You can help by making a donation!

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Hundreds of community members gathered for the premiere screening of Corals’ Last Stand here in Broome this week. Corals’ Last Stand by documentary filmaker Jane Hammond, tells the story of the Kimberley marine treasure, Scott Reef and the challenges it faces as Woodside, BP, MiMi and Petrochina threaten the reef system with a proposal to extract oil and gas from beneath it. The story is narrated by West Australian author Tim Winton, accompanied by musician John Butler and a host of leading conservationists from Western Australia including EK's Martin Pritchard who secured the boat and went out to Scott Reef with them.  

The night also featured a screening of A Crude Injustice, another film by Jane Hammond, which tells the harrowing story of the Montara oil spill that occurred in 2009, off the Kimberley coast. The uncontrolled spill lasted for over 74 days in the Timor and reached as far as the coast of Indonesian Timor, devastating marine life and seaweed farms in its path, damage that has still not fully recovered. The Montara oil spill disaster is a timely reminder that when things go wrong in oil and gas extraction, they can go very wrong.  

Hundreds of Broome residents turn out for screening of Corals’ Last Stand. Photo: Wendy Mitchell.

The campaign to save Scott Reef is gaining momentum, with people from across Australia getting on board to protect the magnificent marine life there from the damaging effects of drilling for fossil gas. Scott Reef is a biodiversity hotspot in the Kimberley and should not be jeopardized for profit, nor should the Kimberley coast line be put at risk of a spill. Keep an eye out for further events in Broome as the fight to Stop Woodside and Save Scott Reef continues.  

To see if there is a screening happening near you check out: https://www.coralslaststand.com.au/screenings 

Or registered to host a screening for friends and family: https://www.coralslaststand.com.au/book-a-screening  

Woodside’s Browse oil and gas drilling plan for Scott Reef rejected by EPA

Oil and gas multinational Woodside’s Browse Basin project at Scott Reef with joint venture partners BP, Japan Australia LNG and PetroChina has suffered a huge blow after being rejected by the WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).

Congratulations to the EPA for a sensible first step in rejecting a terrible proposal.

Scott Reef. Pic: Alex Westover

The EPA have said the company’s plans to drill 50 oil and gas wells around the globally significant Scott Reef off the Kimberley coast has unacceptable impacts on endangered Blue Whales, be a threat to endangered Green Turtles, and risk pollution and oil spills at the highly biodiverse and fragile reef, according to reports made public today. The EPA considers these risks too high.

Scott Reef is a marine biodiversity hotspot that supports 29 marine mammal species including endangered Blue Whales. Nine hundred species of fish have been found at the reef and 1,500 species of invertebrates, including soft and hard corals, sponges and crustaceans. It is also a hotspot for sea snakes, including the elusive Dusky Sea Snake, which hasn’t been seen since 2002.

Save Scott Reef protest in Broome. Pic: Alex Westover.

“This proposal to drill 50 oil and gas wells around Scott Reef off the Kimberley coast, one of the most important marine hotspots in Australian waters, would be rejected out of hand at the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo, so it’s not surprising the WA EPA has rejected it,” said Martin Pritchard, Director of Strategy at Broome-based conservation group Environs Kimberley.  

The WA EPA has been assessing this proposal for 5 years and, in a letter to Woodside, it has been reported that there could be unacceptable impacts on endangered Blue Whales, Green Turtles and the reef itself,” said Mr Pritchard.  

Woodside withdrew its controversial plans for $80 billion LNG refineries on the Kimberley coast at James Price Point in 2013 after fierce opposition from locals and protests across the nation.

“The risks of destroying one of the world’s great coral reefs with oil and gas drilling are clearly too great, and we’re calling on Premier Roger Cook and Environment Minister Reece Whitby to also reject the threat to Scott Reef,” said Mr Pritchard.

It is understood that Woodside now has an opportunity to respond to the EPA, which will make its recommendation to the State Government. Both the State and Federal Governments will then make final decisions on whether or not the Browse project and drilling at Scott Reef can go ahead.

Broome locals have been left in the dark over the dangerous climate and nature risks posed by Woodside’s new plans to drill at Scott Reef and develop the Browse field off the Kimberley coast, environmental groups and experts say. 

Experts will brief Broome locals, who are largely unaware of Woodside’s new plans for their town, at a special campaign launch in Broome to ‘Save Scott Reef’ hosted by Environs Kimberley, Greenpeace and Conservation Council of WA at Broome Lotteries House on Thursday May 16. 

Ten years after Woodside’s failed attempt to build an onshore gas processing plant at James Price Point, the fossil fuel giant is planning to build a 900-kilometre-long pipeline off the Kimberley coast to pipe gas from the Browse field to the Karratha gas plant, as part of its wider Burrup Hub project. 

Woodside’s proposal, which has been submitted for federal and state approval, would see the company drill up to 50 wells at the stunning Scott Reef, turning pristine waters into an industrial gas zone. 

Sitting 270 kilometres off the Kimberley coast, Scott Reef is one of Australia’s most vibrant and biodiverse standalone coral reefs, home to many threatened species including endangered green sea turtles and the endangered pygmy blue whale. 

The stunning Scott Reef off the Kimberley coast where Woodside plans to drill up to 50 gas wells to develop the Browse field. Credit: Alex Westover, Greenpeace. 

Woodside wants to drill just two kilometres from Scott Reef’s edge, risking a catastrophic oil spill. Meanwhile, the pipeline Woodside wants to build will also sit within 2 to 3 kilometres of the stunning Rowley Shoals, a diving paradise regularly visited by Broome marine tourism operators.  

Broome locals have not been informed of the dangerous risks Woodside’s plans pose for the Kimberley coast. 

“Woodside’s plans haven’t been made clear and transparent to Broome residents. People are just not aware of the risks. If something goes wrong, a well blowout could spread for hundreds of kilometres,” said Martin Pritchard, Director of Strategy at Environs Kimberley. 

“Woodside’s safety record has been described by unions as ‘diabolical.’ They have had two pipeline accidents already this year off Karratha. We must place the protection of the Kimberley coast and everyone's jobs in tourism over Woodside profits.” 

With the project facing possible approval within the next few months, Environs Kimberley called on Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to visit Broome and Scott Reef to see first-hand what is at stake. 

“This is a massive new fossil fuel development in a critically important area for endangered pygmy blue whales and green turtles - it’s completely unacceptable. Minister Plibersek can protect our oceans and wildlife for future generations by stopping Woodside’s destructive plans. We would like to invite her to come to the Kimberley and see for herself what's at stake,” Mr Pritchard said. 

At the launch, IPCC report author and renowned climate scientist Bill Hare will discuss climate modelling that indicates Broome will become unliveable if fossil fuel emissions are not drastically reduced soon. 

Environs Kimberley and Greenpeace will also present new research that highlights a massive increase in noise pollution from the number of helicopters taking off and landing at Broome airport and disturbing local residents, if Woodside’s Browse project is approved. 

“Scott Reef is the unknown jewel in the crown of Australia’s offshore reefs. There would be a national outcry if Woodside was drilling for oil and gas on the Great Barrier Reef, we need the same kind of response here,” said Mr Pritchard.

“Broome banded together and successfully defeated Woodside in 2013. We need the community’s support again here to protect Scott Reef and the Kimberley coast from Woodside for good.”