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THE West Australian State Government is piecing together a $10 billion master-plan for the State's resources industry that would underpin the single biggest investment splurge since the development of the North West Shelf gas project three decades ago.
The proposal involves the Labor Government giving the go-ahead to two of the most environmentally-contentious Projects in the State - the Gorgon gas plant on Barrow Island and the expansion of Alcoa's Wagerup alumina refinery in the South West.
The integrated development would be underpinned by the construction of a $1 billion-plus, 1600 km gas pipeline that would run parallel to the existing Dampier-to-Bunbury line.
The Government has already given in-principle approval to the development of the Gorgon gas field and the construction of a connected processing plant on the environmentally-sensitive Barrow Island.
Under, the current plan, all the Gorgon gas would be exported as LNG. But an expanded Wagerup refinery, which is expected to win in-principle approval from the Government in August, would help justify the cost of building a second pipeline.
This would enable some of the Gorgon gas to be brought to Perth, overcoming the energy shortages. All the projects contained in the plan still need to pass environmental checks but the Minister, Mr Brown has backed each publicly and is privately discussing them as the, framework for a series of proposed resource and infrastructure developments - some of which have not been made public.
But the revelation will infuriate green groups - which have waged lengthy battles to stop Barrow Island and Wagerup and looks set to define the environmental ground on which the coming State election will be fought.