Blast for Coal Seam Gas Explorers

MINING industry stalwart Erica Smyth last night called coal seam gas explorers “rogues” and criticised them for ruining the sector’s once good ties with the farming community.

The former BHP chief geologist and current chairman of uranium minnow Toro Energy said that unlike Santos, which had been mining coal bed methane for 50 years, the latest explorers were behaving irresponsibly.

“There are many newcomers who I call rogues,” Dr Smyth said. “How can you just rock up onto someone’s land and drill a hole without even asking and without even shutting the gates?”

In delivering the 37th annual Essington Lewis Memorial Lecture in Adelaide last night (Friday), Dr Smyth said the onshore gas industry “urgently needs a set of guidelines and for newcomers to abide by them”.

“These guidelines also need to address the access protocols for the drilling of thousands of wells and how the many low pressure gas pipelines, which will be needed to gather the gas from these wells, will be positioned to minimis the inconvenience to locals.”

Dr Smyth said the relationship between farmers and onshore gas producers could be repaired with community forums and pre-agreed protocols.

“But this needs to be done in consultation and with no surprises,” Dr Smyth said.

The attack comes as the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) yesterday released a report that claimed coal seam gas is a cleaner fuel than coal.

But the report was seized on by critics of the controversial mining of the gas who said APPEA’s public statements were inconsistent with the report findings.

“The report shows when coal seam gas is burnt in old peaking plants like most of those in use in Australia today, the emissions are up to 44 per cent higher than burning coal in the latest coal plants, such as Queensland’s 700MW Kogan Creek supercritical plant,” Beyond Zero Emissions executive director Matthew Wright said.

“What the industry and APPEA are really proposing is to build a huge amount of gas capacity, damaging Australian farm land to delay and displace renewable energy, which is a true climate solution.”

The report was released in the wake of an escalation of the row between Independent MP Tony Windsor, who has called for a review of coal seam gas mining, and Santos, which is exploring in the politician’s electorate.

Santos yesterday described as “unworkable” Mr Windsor’s calls for a moratorium on the mining until it can be proven that the process will not leach toxic gas into underground water.

news.com.au