“I can appreciate the problem you are confronted with in trying to protect the pristine nature of the Kimberley Coast from the impacts of industrial development. The greatest threat is not necessarily from the initial LNG facilities but rather the longer term cumulative impacts of the associated developments.”

(David R. Klein, Professor Emeritus Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska)

The impacts of the proposed oil and gas developments in the Kimberley region is understood by very few people.  An initial reaction is to take into account their obvious environmental impact.  However, that fails to consider the economic, social and cultural ramifactions of what is being proposed.

The arrival of the oil and gas industry in Alaska in the early 1970s brought about huge change to that region.  It, like the Kimberley, incorporated significant tracts of wilderness and a large indigenous population isolated from major population centres.

Development of the oil and gas industry in the Kimberley can be expected to have four broad impact areas:

1. Environmental implications;
2. Indigenous implications;
3. Development of a major mining industry between the Buccaneer Archipelago and the Mitchell Plateau and Cape Londenderry; and,
4. Economic and social ramifications.

We hope that you find the information in this section informative.