Woodside Pluto Carbon Offset Project - Stage 4

Woodside Pluto Carbon Offset Project - Stage 4 is a permanent mallee planting project located in the Carnamah and Dandaragan local government areas, approximately 300km north of Perth in Western Australia. It was registered in August 2015 and covers 1024.64ha.

Reforestation by environmental or mallee plantings projects involve establishing permanent plantings of native tree or mallee species on land that was previously cleared for agricultural use. The methodology requires plantings to be established at sufficient stocking densities (typically a minimum of 200 stems per hectare) to achieve permanent forest cover and mallee forms.

The Carnamah and Dandaragan region is heavily entrenched in the northern Western Australian Wheatbelt and is well known for broadacre agriculture, including cropping and sheep grazing. The inland area is generally considered semi-arid to dry Mediterranean with lower annual rainfall (averaging roughly 330–400mm). Soils in the region vary widely, predominantly consisting of sandy gravels on the Dandaragan plateau, alongside more clayey and sandy loam soils that are highly conducive to farming.

This project establishes permanent plantings of Eucalyptus loxophleba (York Gum) trees on land that was previously used for agricultural purposes. Interestingly, this project is the fourth stage of the broader "Pluto Trees" offset portfolio. The project proponent, Woodside Burrup Pty. Ltd., uses the Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) generated from this site to help acquit carbon liabilities and manage compliance with the Safeguard Mechanism for the Pluto LNG Facility. Additionally, in August 2024, the project underwent a methodology variation, moving from the older 2013 Reforestation and Afforestation method to the updated 2014 Environmental or Mallee Plantings-FullCAM method.