‘Like lighting a cigarette while trying to quit’: Australia approves new coal seam gas expansion | Environment
A major expansion of coal seam gas, contributing about 120 million tonnes of carbon emissions over its lifetime, has been approved by the federal government until 2081.
The approval allows Australia Pacific LNG to continue to build, operate and potentially decommission new gas infrastructure in Queensland’s Surat and Bowen basins.
This could include up to 1,695 new gas wells, 1,545 km of gas and water pipelines and three processing facilities, which would produce around 2,033 petajoules of gas. The project is expected to be operational until 2061, with an extended approval period to ensure environmental conditions are met.
The project’s public environmental report estimates that 9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions would be emitted during construction and operation, and around 111 million tonnes from gas combustion – more than Australia’s annual transport emissions.
Amanda McKenzie, chief executive of the Climate Council, said this was the 36th fossil fuel project approved by the Albanian government.
“The government says it is committed to reducing climate pollution, but approving new coal and gas projects is like lighting another cigarette while you try to quit smoking. You can’t reduce climate pollution if you keep approving more projects.”
“After a summer marked by record heat and destructive flooding, communities are already living with the consequences of climate pollution. Approving new sources of pollution only increases the damage.”
Australia Pacific LNG is a joint venture of ConocoPhillips, Origin Energy and Sinopec. The development, dubbed the Gas Supply Security Project, would supply both domestic and export markets.
An Australia Pacific LNG spokesperson said it welcomed the approval under federal environmental laws.
“The continued development of these gas fields will enable us to continue to produce gas from our existing reserves to meet existing export contracts and provide a critical supply of gas to Australia’s east coast now and into the future,” the spokesperson said.
A government spokesperson said the project had been approved after “consideration of rigorous scientific advice” and would be subject to 126 environmental conditions.
“The project will have to reduce its emissions every year and reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 under the enhanced safeguard mechanism of the Albanian government,” the spokesperson said.
Lock the Gate national coordinator Ellen Roberts said Queensland’s landscape had already been marked by more than 16,000 coal seam gas wells.
“Gas export companies like Origin Energy in Queensland already produce far more gas than we consume. This project is not about Australia’s energy security, but about increasing and extending the profits of multinational gas exporters.”
