I really don't see higher gas prices translating to less...

I really don't see higher gas prices translating to less environmental compliance. First of all, Shell and the Australian government are not on good terms at the moment. Tanya Pliberseck has introduced federal environmental protection laws in conjunction with an independent EPA. If Shell want to drill more wells, they are going to need to jump through some hoops to do so. Acting on this fast will put them in the box seat for expedited permits imo.

If you go onto the DES CSG wastewater website there is an article published by UQ regarding available technologies for treating the brine and BATs to be implemented by leading producers. I recommend reading that to fully appreciate how transformational this is. The point of the pilot plant was to prove they could scale from the bench. Shell visited VU and the pilot plant two weeks ago, and I highly doubt they would have arranged that without an operational plant.

I appreciate your sound scepticism and am in no way denying your concerns but I do believe that in this case there is evidence and a political climate that is strongly in our favour.