WA's Environment Minister has approved a major part of Woodside's proposed $16 billion Scarborough LNG project. 

Woodside wants to develop the offshore Scarborough gas field, located about 375km west-north-west of the Burrup Peninsula, to start producing gas by 2023.

The plan is to pump gas through an underwater pipeline that connects the gas field to Woodside's Pluto LNG facility on the Burrup Peninsula, where it can process the gas for export.

Most of the planned pipeline is in Commonwealth waters, except for 32.7 kilometres that cross state waters.

The state's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved Woodside’s plan for the “nearshore” section in state waters to link to the Pluto facility.

Environment Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson has issued a statement saying the approval is subject to a range of conditions, including environmental management plans, a cultural heritage management plan, and a condition that the pipeline is built parallel and close to an existing pipeline.

Woodside is expected to make a final investment decision later this year.

The company has welcomed what it calls a “regulatory milestone”, but the Conservation Council of WA says “the pipeline poses a high risk of injury and death to protected marine life including turtles, dolphins, and dugongs … [and] migratory humpback whales”.