‘Tip of the methane iceberg’: 130,000 coal boreholes must be audited after toxic leaks in Queensland, experts say | Mining

Ecologists have called for an audit of thousands of methane drilling packages in Queensland, because an expert says that New South Wales also has an unknown number of potentially disclose holes.

Research revealed last week that two exploratory holes abandoned methane leak at a rate comparable to 10,000 vehicles.

The federal government previously published estimates that there are approximately 130,000 coal exploration bores abandoned in the Surat and Bowen coal basins of Queensland where the quality of the downgrading to seal the holes is unknown.

The Queensland Conservation Council said that the research of the University of Queensland had revealed “the tip of the methane iceberg”.

Charlie Cox, activist for coal and gas on the council, said that the Queensland government should establish an audit on the scale of the drilling state.

“This is a perfect example of what coal royalties should be used,” she said.

“And in cases like this, there is no apparent coal company being exploited to clean the waste, the unsatisfied costs to remedy these holes should be respected by a sample on all current corridors.”

She said that if 5% of the 130,000 inherited coal drill holes emitted at rates similar to those found by UQ, “it is the equivalent of 65 million cars”.

Over a period of 20 years, methane warms the planet at a rate of about 80 times greater than carbon dioxide.

Cox said that “the fight against methane is one of the fastest and most effective opportunities that the Crisafulli government must fight climate change”.

“We are also asking the question, why would you add more methane to the problem with new coal and gas projects, when you do not even have a precise measure or manipulation on the burden left by coal boring like this?”

Dr. Stephen Harris, an expert in greenhouse gas outlets in the fossil fuels sector, said that research has highlighted “a potentially not recognized source for methane emissions not only in Queensland, but also in other areas of Australia which have a long history of exploration of fossil fuels”.

He said the data from the Southern New Wales Government showed that there were more than 9,000 coal exploration drilling known in the state.

“To date, the number of abandoned boreholes remains unknown,” he said.

“In New South Wales, only a small number of exploration of coal and water boreholes have been verified for methane, and they have proven to be very little. But it is not clear if this is the case everywhere, and this research shows that there could be more than we have not yet encountered.”

Harris said that the special cameras used by UQ had discovered the emissions of a borehole “which could have been missed or repelled as too small to have importance”.

He said that the measurement of drilling emissions, then properly seal leaks, “can demonstrate clear reductions in methane released in the atmosphere, offering a measurable advantage for the climate”.

The Queensland government did not answer questions about a potential audit of boreholes and what mechanisms it had to recover the costs of sealing.