Varanus Island is the largest of the
Lowendal Islands
The Lowendal Islands comprise an archipelago, with a total area of about 160 ha of land lying off the coast of Western Australia. It is important for breeding seabirds.
Description
The archipelago lies 10 km north-east of the much l ...
, an
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
off the north west coast of
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, near
Karratha in the
Pilbara
The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a g ...
region. The island is approximately from the mainland coast. It is located at .
Gazetteer of Australia
The Gazetteer of Australia is an index or dictionary of the location and spelling of geographical names across Australia. Geographic names include towns, suburbs and roads, plus geographical features such as hills, rivers, and lakes.
The index is ...
(1996). Belconnen, ACT: Australian Surveying and Land Information Group.
Facilities
It has facilities for piping oil and gas from various locations within the Harriet and East Spar oilfield, that was developed by the
Bond Corporation
Alan Bond (22 April 1938 – 5 June 2015) was an English-born Australian businessman noted for his high-profile and often corrupt business dealings. These included his central role in the WA Inc scandals of the 1980s, and what was at the time ...
in 1987, that is now known as the Varanus Island Processing Hub and owned by
Santos Limited
Santos Ltd. (South Australia Northern Territory Oil Search) is an Australian oil and gas exploration and production company, with its headquarters in Adelaide, South Australia. It owns liquefied natural gas (LNG), pipeline gas, and oil assets. ...
.
Environment
The island is part of the Lowendal Islands
Important Bird Area, identified as such by
BirdLife International because of its importance as a breeding site for
seabird
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...
s. The presence of oil and gas field operations appear to not have significantly affected local birdlife.
2008 gas crisis
On 3 June 2008,
Apache Energy's primary gas pipeline ruptured, causing an explosion. The plant was shut down, and all personnel on the island were airlifted out.
See also
*
*
References
External links
{{wikinews, Apache pipeline fire - Varanus Island, Western Australia, Australian government considers controlling fuel supplies
Important Bird Areas of Western Australia
Lowendal Islands
Natural gas in Western Australia