Does the author of this article know something we don't?(3...

Does the author of this article know something we don't?

(3 quarters into aricle) the author claims that CXY is to recommence the burn......

anyone care to speculate whether he/she just got their facts wrong or could it be something more?


Water group calls for tighter Oz CBM regs

Australias Great Artesian Basin co-ordinating committee (GABCC) today called for tighter regulation of exploration in the countrys coalbed methane (CBM) play, hard on the heels of a series of protests across Queensland highlighting fears that drilling may pollute the giant aquifer.

Upstream staff 26 July 2010 16:46 GMT

The federal body advises regulators on activities affecting the Great Artesian basin, which covers more than 1.7 million square kilometres.

The aquifer is the only reliable source of fresh water for much of inland Australia.

The basin lies under about 23% of the Australian land mass, including most of Queensland and northern New South Wales - the core areas of the countrys CBM play.

The boom in CBM exploration - including plans for a number of CBM to liquefied natural gas plants in Queensland - has sparked concerns that exploration work could fracture water-bearing sands, contaminating the aquifer and causing water loss.

The basin, together with the coal seams that lie above it, hold an estimated 65 billion megalitres of water.

"We are talking new technology for (CBM), and there is big community angst out there about how they propose to do it," GABCC chairman Jeff Austin said in a release.

"We are being told it is all under control, but we don't have enough evidence to satisfy ourselves that it won't jeopardise the Great Artesian basin in certain areas forever."

Austin said the GABCC has set up two working groups to look into the impact drilling and exploration is having on the aquifers and water sources.

"(CBM) is just one of those that is of great concern," he said.

"The environmental representative (on our group) has come up with all sorts of nasties that the industry is using that we need to be careful of - the operations themselves, the possible interference with GAB aquifers - these are all of great concern to us and we will advise the government of how to tidy up those guidelines."

Just last week Cougar Energys Bloodwood Creek pilot underground coal gasification plant, outside the Queensland town of Kingaroy, was shut down briefly by the state government after contaminants were found in ground water nearby.

The pilot project, which uses new techniques to extract gas from coal measures, is restarting production after further tests showed that the bore water in the area now meets drinking standards.

Over the weekend, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh faced an angry 100-strong crowd at Roma, with local pressure group the Basin Sustainability Alliance calling for an independent review of all CBM projects.

Bligh told protesters her government was committed to ensuring CBM operators met global industry standards.

"This is a great opportunity for new wealth and prosperity, but we need to get it right,'' she said.

Local campaigners welcomed the GABCCs statement, but said that a moratorium on CBM exploration is vital while its long-term impact is assessed.

Dalby-based crop management consultant Bernie Caffery told the Australian newspaper: "Inland Australia, it can't do without that underground water.

"It (CBM exploration and production) has all happened so quickly and it is such a big footprint, the time hasn't been allowed to do a study in each area to understand the impact of taking all that water out," he said.

No one from Queenslands major CBM operators, including Arrow and Origin, were immediately available for comment.

Published: 26 July 2010 16:46 GMT | Last updated: 26 July 2010 16:48 GMT