From Energy news

Herewith is what I just received from Energy News.

IMO there are some very interesting points therein.

Enjoy it..

""(Metgasco flags Rosella damages
Tuesday, 28 April 2015

Haydn Black

METGASCO managing director Peter Henderson told Energy News he is overjoyed that the company’s right to explorer in northern New South Wales has been vindicated by last week’s Supreme Court victory and that Rosella-1 could finally spud within three months.


But Henderson, mindful of the savaging the company’s share price has taken over the past 18 months, says no work will begin until the NSW state government is on board.


“The plan going forward is that clearly we would like to get back into the area and do our business, that is the reason for our existence, we would like to drill the Rosella-1 well, and we might be able to do so in three months’ time, but we would like to sit down and talk sense to the government beforehand,” he said.


Justice Richard Button’s ruling gave strong support to Metgasco’s position.


He found that not only was the decision to cancel the Rosella-1 drilling permit was unlawful, but that the Office of Coal Seam Gas did not observe proper procedural fairness, and had confused consultation with persuasion.


He said Metgasco had been substantially damaged Metgasco and exposed to “criminal sanction”.


Justice Button awarded costs to Metgasco, and Henderson said the company would also seek “compensation for the damage that has been inflicted on Metgasco and its 5000 shareholders by the NSW Government’s unlawful decision”.


Some estimates have put that bill at $10 million.


One of the key sticking points will be Metgasco’s legal right to conduct its exploration activities, and not be stymied by protesters it says are from outside the Bentley area.


“There is no doubt the protesters will come back, and we will be seeking for the government to uphold the law,” Henderson said.


“We have the right and the obligation to explore up there, and we expect our legal rights to be upheld.


“What we are prepared to do, what we would like to do, is sit down with government professionally and talk through the issues and make sure we have a win-win situation.”


Henderson said the court ruling was a win for the resources industry in NSW and could have implications for broader industry in the state.


“Had we lost, future investors in NSW would have had to consider the real threat of sovereign risk and NSW’s image would have been tarnished,” he said.


The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association welcomed the decision and said that protest action should not be considered by government and regulators as an indicator of “ineffective” consultation and therefore grounds for suspension of previously approved operations.


Companies with required approvals in place should be allowed to get on with the job of safely producing gas for NSW households and businesses, the group said in a statement.


“Industry has always recognised there are people with genuine concerns regarding resource development who are open to consultation, science-based evidence, and reasonable negotiation; and that there are others who are not.


“Last year’s suspension decision only served to encourage the actions of protesters intent on stopping natural gas production.”


Henderson said the Casino CSG project and the proposed 30 megawatt Richmond Valley gas-fired power station are on hold for the immediate future, with the focus on the Greater Mackeller area.


Rosella-1 is a high-risk well planned to test the conventional and tight gas potential of the Greater Mackellar structure within PEL 16.


It follows the success of the Kingfisher-1 well, drilled in late 2009.


The proposed well will test the thick sequence of gas bearing strata in the Gatton Sandstone that had low permeability in the Kingfisher-1 well, together with the deeper Basal Bundamba Sandstone, Ipswich and Nymboida coal measures that were below the depth reached in Kingfisher-1.


The entire structure is interpreted to cover 260 square kilometres and expected to hold a potential mean volume of 1.3 trillion cubic feet of gas-in-place in the Ripley Road and Gatton sandstones.


Fracking is not planned in the well at this stage.


The project has the support of the Bentley farmer who owned the property where the work program was due to take place and who was reportedly subjected to abuse, personal threats and vandalism.


The ruling also highlighted some issues with the relevant law’s construction with the NSW government has indicated will be examined.

Share this story""


Cheers to all.