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UCG boss hits 'hostile' rules

Peter Ker
July 5, 2011

UCG players have long complained that Australia's booming coal seam gas sector has not faced the same scrutiny from regulators that UCG has.

UCG players have long complained that Australia's booming coal seam gas sector has not faced the same scrutiny from regulators that UCG has.

HOSTILE regulators are forcing Australian developers of underground coal gasification technologies to look offshore, according to the chief executive of besieged underground coal gasification (UCG) player Cougar Energy.

The warning from Len Walker came as Queensland's Environment Department laid three charges against Cougar Energy for breaches at its UCG facility near Kingaroy.

The department claims Cougar failed to properly install a gas well properly, released benzene and other contaminants into the groundwater and was slow in reporting the problems to authorities.
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The charges could result in large fines and are the latest safety concerns to hit a sector whose future is in the balance amid a review by a government-appointed scientific panel.

Dr Walker said Cougar did not believe it had caused environmental harm and was taking legal advice.

UCG players have long complained that Australia's booming coal seam gas sector has not faced the same scrutiny from regulators that UCG has.

Dr Walker said regulators had played down the significance of recent benzene leaks from CSG operators. ''The government is putting significant constraints on the development of the UCG industry and the reasons for that are only known to them,'' he said. A moratorium on new UCG projects is in force and Dr Walker said it was no coincidence that the companies conducting UCG trials in Queensland - Cougar, Linc Energy and Carbon Energy - had increased their focus on overseas interests.