“Public consultation on a proposed amendment is not usual process for the EPA, but we believe that in this case the circumstances warrant it.”

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Walsh said the EPA would consider the feedback before ruling on whether Woodside should be allowed to amend the plan during the assessment process.

The EPA’s report and recommendations to the Environment Minister were expected to be finalised by the end of the year and a final decision made shortly after that.

The news comes just six months after the WA government green lit Woodside’s plan to run the 200-hectare North West Shelf plant for another 50 years.

The ruling to extend the life of Australia’s largest export facility ended a six-year-long approval process and cleared the way for the Browse joint venture between Woodside, BP, Mitsui, Mitsubishi and PetroChina.

The EPA gave the proposal the nod on the condition Woodside gradually decrease its emissions every five years to zero between 2030 and 2050.

The hub on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia’s north-west is expected to generate 4.3 billion tonnes of emissions over its lifespan, more than 10 times the nation’s current annual total.

Both projects have faced staunch opposition from conservation groups over their environmental impact, from the carbon emissions from the LNG plant to the erosion of ancient World Heritage-nominated Aboriginal rock art on its doorstep.

But Woodside has long maintained Browse gas could help address a predicted gas shortage in WA, support energy security and aid the global effort to decarbonise, a position backed by Premier Roger Cook and Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King.

A spokesperson for the energy giant said the latest amendment was informed by updates in scientific data and advances in best practice environmental measurers.

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“Processing Browse natural gas through existing North West Shelf infrastructure has the potential to further support thousands of direct and indirect jobs, billions of dollars in taxes and royalties and secure gas supply to Western Australia,” the spokesperson said.

“In WA, gas is increasingly used to replace coal in generating electricity needed to heat and cool homes and keep lights on. Natural gas is also used in the production of bricks, aluminium and fertiliser, and our mining, manufacturing and critical minerals industries rely on it.”

A final decision on the project, which became a political football in the lead up to both the state and federal election, will now fall to newly appointed Environment Minister Murray Watt.