Bulgaria has just banned shale gas exploration and withdrawn a permit previously issued to Chevron. But the WA door, on the contrary, has now been opened wide to the use of the controversial fracture stimulation (usually called fracking), which involves cracking rock with water, sand and chemicals to release gas from shales.
WA Environment Minister Bill Marmion late on Friday cleared the way for four wells to be fracked, backing his Environment Protection Authority after the state's Conservation Council sought to stop the drilling.
Three companies exploring in the Perth Basin and primarily affected by the minister's decision are AWE (AWE), which closed on Friday at $1.725, Transerv Energy (TSV), which is in partnership with Alcoa at the Warro gas target and trades at 1c, and Norwest Energy (NWE), which languishes at 4.4c. Norwest is hoping for a bit of action when the market opens this morning, especially as its stock rose 48.4 per cent on Friday night at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange once the Germans digested the minister's decision.
The Australian
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