Woodside pay only native title for Browse Woodside Petroleum has ruled out making ex-gratia payments to traditional owners who signed up to a $1.5 billion social benefits package for the now-shelved Browse gas project. The communities stand to miss out on all but a small part of the package as it was conditional on the company and its joint venture partners deciding to proceed with an onshore processing hub at James Price Point, north of Broome, in Western Australia's Kimberley region. Woodside shelved that $45 billion proposal almost a fortnight ago, saying it would not deliver the returns needed. While traditional owners said the joint venture had a moral obligation to deliver the package regardless of whether the project proceeded, Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman said only $18 million in native title payments would still be made. "The agreement was very clear," Mr Coleman told reporters after the energy giant's annual general meeting in Perth on Wednesday. It was based upon the successful final investment decision at James Price Point. We don't expect to be making ex-gratia payments to them. Financial market analysts have said a flood of LNG exports to Asia from North America's shale gas boom was a factor in the company's decision to shelve Browse. Mr Coleman said he expected LNG demand would remain strong for the next three or four years, particularly for cargoes sold on the spot market. He believes the resources sector as a whole is going through a natural correction after a long commodities cycle. And while green groups claimed victory after often heated protests at James Price Point, Woodside's chairman Michael Chaney insisted the dissent had "zero" influence on the board's decision.