Woodside Pluto Carbon Offset Project - Stage 3

Woodside Pluto Carbon Offset Project - Stage 3 is a permanent mallee planting project registered in October 2014. While the exact project area and coordinates are suppressed on the public register, the project is an aggregation covering multiple properties across Western Australia and New South Wales. Managed in partnership with CO2 Australia, these plantings are characteristically located in the Western Australian Wheatbelt (near agricultural towns like Carnamah and Dandaragan) and central-western New South Wales (near towns such as Condobolin). These regions are historically dominated by broadacre agriculture, particularly wheat cropping and livestock grazing.

The project currently operates under the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings (FullCAM) methodology, having varied its method in August 2022 from an older 2013 afforestation determination. This methodology involves establishing permanent plantings of native tree or mallee species on land that was cleared of forest cover for agricultural use for at least five years prior to commencement. The standard requires these plantings to be established at sufficient stocking densities to achieve a forest cover with the potential to reach a height of at least two meters and 20% crown cover. Carbon sequestration for the project is estimated using the FullCAM modelling tool.

Environmentally, the planting areas feature a hot, semi-arid climate with low to moderate annual rainfall. The soils in these regions generally consist of red-brown earths, rocky loams, and sandy clays, which provide an ideal foundation for deep-rooted native mallee species to thrive.

The project specifically establishes permanent plantings of Eucalyptus loxophleba (York Gum) and Eucalyptus polybractea (Blue Mallee). York Gum is an endemic Western Australian species heavily adapted to semi-arid conditions, while Blue Mallee is a highly drought-resilient species native to eastern Australia, historically famous for its high-grade eucalyptus oil. As part of Woodside's broader carbon portfolio, their partnership with CO2 Australia has led to the planting of over 26 million drought-resistant native mallee trees across more than 17,000 hectares, establishing one of Australia's largest commercial emissions offset programs. The resulting Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) are systematically retired to acquit compliance obligations and manage the operational greenhouse gas emissions associated with the Pluto LNG Facility on the Burrup Peninsula.