The company says the project, located in the Canning Basin about 85 kilometres south of Derby, would process conventional gas from two co-located production wells. Conventional gas is extracted using simple drilling and pumping, unlike fracking.
Buru executive chairman David Maxwell said Rafael was the only proven conventional gas and liquids resource in the greater Kimberley, which currently relies on imported energy from Karratha, Perth, Darwin and Asia.
"It's the first opportunity for the Kimberley to have gas and LPG supplied from within the region," he said.
The plant would produce up to 300 tonnes of Liquefied Natural Gas per day, equivalent to about 16 or 17 terajoules of energy, alongside LPG and condensate. Mr Maxwell said the Kimberley used between six and 13 terajoules per day for power generation, depending on the season.
"We have the capacity to supply 100 per cent of the Kimberley's gas demand," he said, adding the project would also supply the northern Pilbara and about a quarter to a third of the Kimberley's LPG demand.
The referral follows heightened scrutiny of gas development in the region. The West Australian government has banned fracking across more than 98 per cent of the state, but the Canning Basin and parts of the Kimberley are excluded. Earlier this year, the EPA recommended a separate fracking proposal by Black Mountain Energy subsidiary Bennett Resources go ahead, prompting a record 8,000 appeals.
When asked about that proposal in Broome this month, WA Mines Minister Daniel Pastorelli acknowledged differing views: "I understand everyone has differing views on these types of things and I respect that completely. Obviously our policy and our approach is based on science."