NSW does not need coal seam gas. We certainly need natural gas, the cleanest of the fossil fuels, to help us move to a more sustainable energy economy but there are other ways to get it. Natural and coal seam gas are, in the end, the same thing - mostly methane (CH4) with some heavier hydrocarbons. Natural gas is often found with oil deposits and coal seam is, of course, trapped in coal.
In NSW, we have been using natural gas since 1976. Coal seam is a recent and minor development - barely 4 per cent of NSW gas comes from coal seam and 96 per cent is natural gas from the Cooper Basin and Bass Strait.
Every form of energy has environmental, safety and economic costs (renewables included). We know what these are for conventional natural gas. We have far less experience with coal seam but it is already clear that the risks - to water, agriculture, human settlements and land use - are high.
Sydney Morning Herald
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