ABC just now: A fracking project in WA's Kimberley has been...

ABC just now:
A fracking project in WA's Kimberley has been given only the second exemption to the state's gas export ban.
Key points:

• Bennett Resources wants to develop a fracking project near Fitzroy Crossing
• It's feared more big fracking proposals will seek to export gas
• The WA government says there will be benefits for the state and region

Introduced last year, the change to WA's domestic gas policy prevents gas extracted onshore from being sent to the eastern states or overseas.
The only other exemption to the policy was given to the Kerry Stokes-backed Waitsia project, with Premier Mark McGowan defended the move on the grounds Waitsia was a "shovel ready" development that would deliver hundreds of jobs.
At the time the  policy was changed, the Valhalla project being developed by Bennett Resources had been submitted to WA's Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), with plans for six wells on Noonkanbah Station, near Fitzroy Crossing.
But a recent announcement by Texas-based Black Mountain, which owns Bennett Resources, revealed it had now been granted an exemption from the export restrictions.
It was the first application for a fracking project since the state government lifted a ban on the practice in 2018.
The latest EPA document, released on August 4, reveals Bennett Resources now plans to build up to 20 "exploration and appraisal wells" at 10 sites.
Concerns over 'very large fracking projects'

The exemption has upset the WA Conservation Council, with the group saying it went against what was promised when the moratorium on fracking ended.
"It was lifted after an inquiry found that any gas fracking would likely be only small scale and only for the domestic market, and therefore have very limited environmental impact because the size of those developments would be very small," Council director Piers Verstegen said.

Conservation Council director Piers Verstegen says the project itself should not go ahead.(
ABC News: James Carmody
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"We raised concerns about that at the time and said that we didn't think that was accurate and that those fracking companies would be trying to build very large fracking projects to access the export market.
"That appears to be exactly what's happening now."
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The WA government said the exemption was granted because the project would help build gas pipelines to connect the area to the broader WA network.
"This foundation pipeline infrastructure will support the further development of the Canning Basin and new gas supply for the Western Australian market," a government spokesperson said.
"The project has the potential to deliver a range of benefits for the Kimberley and Western Australia, including regional jobs and business opportunities, royalties and domestic gas supply."
He said the project was subject to Black Mountain agreeing to a domestic gas commitment agreement with the state.
Gas commitment needed: Cook

Minister for State Development, Jobs and Trade, Roger Cook, confirmed part of the reason the exemption was granted was that there was not an existing gas pipeline near the project's location.

Roger Cook says it is important the Kimberley benefits from the proposed fracking project.(
ABC News: Rhiannon Shine
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"We've said to [Bennett Resources/Black Mountain] … if they need to export a portion of their initial off-take in relation to this in order to make the project successful, then we would be prepared to consider that," he told ABC Goldfields.
"But we've also said that that would be on the basis that they commit in the long-term to domestic gas agreements, but also that they build pipeline infrastructure to make sure that the rest of the Kimberley benefits from this particular development."
The government said the project would still need to obtain all relevant approvals, including environmental, before going ahead.
Warning heritage area being sacrificed

The Conservation Council has also raised concerns over the potential environmental impact of the project.
"It's in the Kimberley, which is an area of incredible biodiversity and cultural values and landscape values," Mr Verstegen said.
"It's national heritage listed, and just shouldn't be sacrificed to an industrial fracking zone for the sake of a gas export industry that doesn't actually benefit Western Australia very much.
"Our concern is that it would lead to thousands of gas wells across the Kimberley."
When the project was submitted to the EPA last year, Black Mountain CEO Ashely Zumwalt-Forbes said the proposal had the backing of local traditional owners.
"Thomas Skinner, a member of the Yungngora traditional owner group, was quite influential in getting the initial moratorium raised and the folks who actually live … where we intend to operate have been nothing but incredibly supportive of the project," she told ABC's Country Hour.
She had earlier told the ABC the lifting of the moratorium would open economic opportunities for local people and would be welcomed by the community as long as companies acted responsibly.
'The last thing we need for the climate'

Mr Verstegen said it was the wrong decision on all fronts.

Environmentalists in the Kimberley have previously rallied against the Black Mountain project.(
Supplied: Environs Kimberley
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"It's almost unbelievable to think that at a time when the world is shifting towards renewable energy, and a time when we're talking about new and stronger commitments that need to be made on climate change, that the state government would even contemplate a giant new gas basin in the Canning Basin," he said.
"This is the last thing we need for the climate.
"Environment groups will be fighting projects like this at every step of the way to ensure that they don't go ahead, because we need to be protecting our climate and we need to be protecting our natural places like the Kimberley from this kind of development."
The EPA's approval process is not expected to be completed until early 2023.
Black Mountain has been approached for comment.
Posted 11m ago