The oil and gas giant’s plan to build a liquefied natural gas plant in northwest Australia drew widespread protests because it would require moving 165 historic indigenous rock carvings to make way for the development.
The West Australian Government gave its permission to clear the area in February.
Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced on his website on Monday that the Government has demarcated 1% of the Dampier Archipelago, including the Burrup Peninsula, in Western Australia for development and kept the rest of the area as a national heritage site.
The Government told Woodside in September to re-route a gas pipeline and access roadway for its Pluto project to save the rock drawings.
In December, former federal environment minister Ian Campbell rejected an emergency application to heritage list the site, saying it could obstruct the development of the Australian gas industry.
The Pluto project is estimated to cost between $6 billion and $10 billion and is scheduled to begin supplying LNG to customers Kansai Electric and Tokyo Gas by the end of 2010.
