In September last year, the coal seam gas (CSG) industry launched a multimillion dollar advertising campaign called We want CSG. It is sponsored by the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) — the peak national body for oil and gas exploration — which represents companies such as Shell, Santos, Origin Energy, British Gas, AGL, PetroChina and ConocoPhillips.
This campaign kicked off in the context of broad public opposition to the industry: an August 2011 Galaxy poll found that 68% of Australians support a moratorium on CSG mining until more is known about the health and environmental impacts.
In an APPEA media release, chief operating officer for eastern Australia, Rick Wilkinson, said the “We Want CSG” campaign was meant to counter “the loudest voices in Australia’s energy debate” by giving “the facts — not myths — about CSG, the industry’s operations, and the critical role gas can play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions”.
Some of these “facts” — put forward in the campaign’s new television ads — are examined below.
Claim: “This is a coal seam gas well. It takes up less land than half a tennis court.”
The impact of unconventional gas well heads on the landscape
Shown in the ad is a single CSG well, with some horses grazing nearby.
The problem with this claim is what the ad fails to mention: that CSG mining takes far more than a well.
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Stop CSG Illawarra
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