BG still tipped to be first across the line

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WITH the initial elation over environmental approval for their respective projects over, BG Group and Santos are now considering the conditions set by federal Environment Minister Tony Burke, though BG could still approve its project this week.

The 300-plus conditions include detailed planning and monitoring to protect groundwater resources; management plans for aquifers, groundwater and surface water; ensuring reinjected water is of suitable quality; rehabilitating large areas of land; and cooperating with other coal seam gas players and the Queensland Water Commission to develop a regional model for the ongoing assessment of the impacts on ground-water activity.

Additionally, BG will be limited to 6000 wells for its 8.3 million tonne per annum Queensland Curtis Liquefied Natural Gas project and Santos limited to 2650 wells for its initial 3.6MMtpa Gladstone LNG project.

While accounting for these conditions could take some time, BG has been ready to give approval for QCLNG since the first half of this year and is expected to be the first to make a final investment decision, which could come early this week, while Santos still needs to finalise its funding arrangements, The Australian reported.

The green light from Burke is also heartening for Origin Energy’s Australia Pacific LNG joint venture with ConocoPhillips, which is now expecting the Queensland state government to approve its project and could secure federal government approval faster as well.

APLNG general manager Paul Zealand told The Australian the project remained on track to have all relevant information to the Origin and Conoco boards in time for them to make a decision by the end of the year.

He added the recent discovery of small traces of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene was not affecting the timetable, calling it “an isolated incident we don’t yet understand”.

Zealand said fears BTEX would be released into the head of the Murray-Darling River system were not justified, as water released from CSG wells would go through strict tests in order to pick up the compound before being discharged.

“It is drinking-water standard being discharged from the osmosis plant into the river,” he added.

Meanwhile, reactions to the environmental approval were clearly in-line with the split between project proponents and environmentalists.

The Queensland Resource Council was noticeably upbeat, saying that Queensland could look forward to the creation of about 10,000 construction phase jobs and almost 2000 operational jobs.

“Together, these projects will announce Queensland as a serious player in the global gas market, with the Asia-Pacific region forecast to dominate energy demand growth for decades to come,” QRC chief executive Michael Roche said.

He added the exhaustive government approval conditions combined with a host of new environmental and water management laws and rules would make Queensland’s CSG-LNG export operations the most highly regulated resource projects in the state’s history.

“The regulatory protections for the environment and for host communities are comprehensive and appropriate but it’s likely they will never satisfy trenchant resource sector opponents,” Roche said.

“However, the Queensland community can be assured that these projects are set to deliver substantial benefits in new investment, jobs, export income and a new stream of royalty revenue for taxpayers, while operating under strict government regulation and supervision.”

This mirrored APPEA’s earlier statement welcoming the approval and saying it presented unparalleled economic and environmental opportunity.

On the other side of the fence, Friends of the Earth spokesman Drew Hutton told the AAP the conditions failed to offer real protection for the Great Artesian Basin and the Condamine alluvium.

“The government should have instead put off limits any areas of the basin where drilling could result in massive draw downs in the water table,” Hutton said.

Meanwhile, Capricorn Conservation Council spokesman Ian Herbert said no amount of conditions could stop the project having a major and irreversible effect on the environment.

He said the projects would deplete the amount of groundwater available to farmers in the Western Darling Downs region, while dredging of Gladstone Harbour would threaten the habitat of turtles, dolphins and other marine life.

Herbert also criticised the job creation benefits claimed by project proponents, saying it was a temporary measure.

“In 20 to 30 years time we're going to be left with these plants and at some stage in the future it will all be no longer required once the gas has been pumped out.”

Both QCLNG and GLNG, located at Gladstone, are scheduled to start production in 2014.


Monday, 25 October 2010
PetroleumNews.net
http://www.petroleumnews.net/StoryView.asp?StoryID=1541704

WITH the initial elation over environmental approval for their respective projects over, BG Group and Santos are now considering the conditions set by federal Environment Minister Tony Burke, though BG could still approve its project this week.

The 300-plus conditions include detailed planning and monitoring to protect groundwater resources; management plans for aquifers, groundwater and surface water; ensuring reinjected water is of suitable quality; rehabilitating large areas of land; and cooperating with other coal seam gas players and the Queensland Water Commission to develop a regional model for the ongoing assessment of the impacts on ground-water activity.

Additionally, BG will be limited to 6000 wells for its 8.3 million tonne per annum Queensland Curtis Liquefied Natural Gas project and Santos limited to 2650 wells for its initial 3.6MMtpa Gladstone LNG project.

While accounting for these conditions could take some time, BG has been ready to give approval for QCLNG since the first half of this year and is expected to be the first to make a final investment decision, which could come early this week, while Santos still needs to finalise its funding arrangements, The Australian reported.

The green light from Burke is also heartening for Origin Energy’s Australia Pacific LNG joint venture with ConocoPhillips, which is now expecting the Queensland state government to approve its project and could secure federal government approval faster as well.

APLNG general manager Paul Zealand told The Australian the project remained on track to have all relevant information to the Origin and Conoco boards in time for them to make a decision by the end of the year.

He added the recent discovery of small traces of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene was not affecting the timetable, calling it “an isolated incident we don’t yet understand”.

Zealand said fears BTEX would be released into the head of the Murray-Darling River system were not justified, as water released from CSG wells would go through strict tests in order to pick up the compound before being discharged.

“It is drinking-water standard being discharged from the osmosis plant into the river,” he added.

Meanwhile, reactions to the environmental approval were clearly in-line with the split between project proponents and environmentalists.

The Queensland Resource Council was noticeably upbeat, saying that Queensland could look forward to the creation of about 10,000 construction phase jobs and almost 2000 operational jobs.

“Together, these projects will announce Queensland as a serious player in the global gas market, with the Asia-Pacific region forecast to dominate energy demand growth for decades to come,” QRC chief executive Michael Roche said.

He added the exhaustive government approval conditions combined with a host of new environmental and water management laws and rules would make Queensland’s CSG-LNG export operations the most highly regulated resource projects in the state’s history.

“The regulatory protections for the environment and for host communities are comprehensive and appropriate but it’s likely they will never satisfy trenchant resource sector opponents,” Roche said.

“However, the Queensland community can be assured that these projects are set to deliver substantial benefits in new investment, jobs, export income and a new stream of royalty revenue for taxpayers, while operating under strict government regulation and supervision.”

This mirrored APPEA’s earlier statement welcoming the approval and saying it presented unparalleled economic and environmental opportunity.

On the other side of the fence, Friends of the Earth spokesman Drew Hutton told the AAP the conditions failed to offer real protection for the Great Artesian Basin and the Condamine alluvium.

“The government should have instead put off limits any areas of the basin where drilling could result in massive draw downs in the water table,” Hutton said.

Meanwhile, Capricorn Conservation Council spokesman Ian Herbert said no amount of conditions could stop the project having a major and irreversible effect on the environment.

He said the projects would deplete the amount of groundwater available to farmers in the Western Darling Downs region, while dredging of Gladstone Harbour would threaten the habitat of turtles, dolphins and other marine life.

Herbert also criticised the job creation benefits claimed by project proponents, saying it was a temporary measure.

“In 20 to 30 years time we're going to be left with these plants and at some stage in the future it will all be no longer required once the gas has been pumped out.”

Both QCLNG and GLNG, located at Gladstone, are scheduled to start production in 2014.


Monday, 25 October 2010
PetroleumNews.net
http://www.petroleumnews.net/StoryView.asp?StoryID=1541704