Federal Minister Martin Ferguson has said that a recent split within the native title claimant groups may affect the timing of the negotiations between Woodside and the Kimberly Land Council, which represents the claimants.

Woodside said “While recent uncertainty surrounding the native title claim over James Price Point is disappointing, we do not expect it to have an impact on the overall schedule for the Browse LNG Development.

“Woodside remains committed to the Heads of Agreement (HoA) negotiated with traditional owners for a development at James Price Point and we look forward to the benefits from this agreement flowing to local indigenous people.

“The Browse LNG development remains on track for a final investment decision to be taken by mid-2012,”said the company.

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Woodside signed a HoA with the Kimberly Traditional Owners in April 2009 in relation to the proposed gas precinct at James Price Point. The groups have not reached a final agreement.

The Browse LNG Development includes the Brecknock, Brecknock South and Tarosa (formerly known as Scott Reef) fields, which contain proven reserves of 30.4 trillion cubic feet of gas and 600 million barrels of condensate. The fields are located approximately 400 kilometres north, northwest of Broome.

The initial development concept for Browse involves offshore facilities and two processing trains, each with a capacity of 7 million tonnes per annum of LNG.

The Browse LNG Development is a joint venture between Woodside, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, BP and BHP Billiton.