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The cheapest option for gas companies to get rid of their waste is to allow evaporation via their holding ponds or accumulation dams. The Santos ponds at Leewood Water Treatment Facility (pictured) recently received the residual waste from the ponds which were upgraded at Tintsfield (near the Wilga Park Power Station) and continue to receive produced water from operating Santos wells. Whilst the Reverse Osmosis facility at Leewood is non-operational and irrigation is not occurring the sun is doing the job of evaporating the waste. Lawful or not this is definitely occurring as…continue reading →

Co-authored by Shay Dougall – Molliwell and Johanna Evans – NWPA What is a high point vent (HPV)? Gas and water is extracted from the coal seam via the gas well. The gas and water are separated at the well head and are transported in separate buried high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipelines to the gas processing facility.  Some water will be present in the gas pipeline which will block the gas flow if it is not allowed to drop out of the pipeline via a low point drain.  Some gas will be present in…continue reading →

Santos’ grandiose promise of investing $3.6 billion on the Narrabri Gas Project is shrinking, despite the 850+ well gas field gaining planning approval from the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC). Australian Financial Review’s Angela Macdonald-Smith has reported on Citi’s 12th Annual Australia and New Zealand Investment Conference 2020, where Santos Managing Director Kevin Gallagher “scoffed” at the long-held investment estimate. “It’s nowhere near that cost, it’s a very revamped project from the days of 2014-2015”. Kevin Gallagher, Santos CEO Really? Santos has only just completed a 3½ year planning process since the release…continue reading →

This is what NSW could look like if the Gladys Berejiklian government gets their Gas Plan up and running. Tempted by the 70 billion dollar carrot that Prime Minister Scott Morrison used to bribe the NSW government and the Independent Planning Commission the LNP/National Party government is doubling down on community that remains vehemently opposed to unconventional onshore and conventional offshore gas mining. Gasfields:Narrabri Gas Project (approved)Camden AGL gasfield is due to finish producing gas in 2023. Expired PELs: (see map linked here)Companies Comet Ridge and Carbon Minerals are actively seeking to have…continue reading →

Sunset over the strategically important farmland of the Gunnedah Basin. The Liverpool Plains is world-renowned for its ability to produce top class agricultural products. The Queensland Hunter Gas Pipeline proposal will impact this land.The Pilliga Bore Bath is revered for it's healing waters Australia wide. The recently fire ravaged Pilliga forest looking towards the Warrumbungles.The Namoi River is the lifeblood of the Gunnedah Basin. It is culturally significant to the Traditional Owners and agriculture in the region relies on this important water source.The road that leads to Dandry Gorge, Pilliga National Park, is…continue reading →

Community are welcoming the end of a long and tiring assessment process which has seen lives placed on hold for many years. The Narrabri Gas Project Independent Planning Commission decision has announced that the 850+ well coal seam gasfield in Narrabri will proceed. Today’s decision is not a reflection of the community’s expectations around controversial mining projects that have not been proven to be safe. A diverse range of people including Traditional Owners, farmers, landowners, conservationists, community groups and water protectors have stood strong against the approval of the Narrabri Gas Project for…continue reading →

While we await the decision of the NSW Independent Planning Commission on whether or not to approve Santos' Narrabri Gas Project, the Hunter Gas Pipeline is trying to ram a path through the Liverpool Plains to Queensland under the pretext of COVID-19 economic recovery. With promises of taxpayer funding to develop the unpopular gas pipeline, promoter Garbis Simonian thinks his day has come. But things were not so promising for Simonian until the pandemic changed the fortunes of Hunter Gas Pipeline, now queuing up for a handout from Scott Morrison's pro-gas government. Part…continue reading →

Part 3: In Parts One and Two, we brought you the story of businessmen Duncan Hardie, Garbis Simonian and others along with the genesis of the Hunter Gas Pipeline company in 2005 and the machinations that have taken place since then to establish a 600mm diameter cross border gas transmission pipeline connecting Queensland’s Wallumbilla Gas Hub to Newcastle. Duncan Hardie was an influential serial land and fossil fuel speculator from New Zealand, and founding Chairman of the NSW Urban Taskforce, who had claimed that he and three other proponents would finance the build…continue reading →

Part Two “…it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…”Charles Dickens In Part One we detailed the history behind the formation of Macquarie Energy and Apollo Gas and the emergence of pipeline promoters Duncan Hardie and Garbis Simonian. In 2004, the NSW Government abandoned a plan to build a Gas Transmission Pipeline from Wallumbilla, QLD to Newcastle, to bring gas from QLD to NSW. This was following research undertaken under the portfolios of Craig Knowles (Minister for Infrastructure and Planning and Minister for Natural Resources, 2003-2005). However in July…continue reading →