Santos $3.6bn Narrabri gas project formally backed by NSW government
A contentious gas development at Narrabri, in north-west New South Wales, is a step closer to going ahead after being formally backed by the Berejiklian government.
The state Department of Planning, Industry and Environment on Friday said it had referred the $3.6bn project, proposed by the oil and gas giant Santos, to the state’s Independent Planning Commission and recommended it be approved with what it described as strict conditions.
If approved, it could involve up to 850 coal seam gas wells being drilled on 1,000 hectares of a 95,000 hectare site taking in the Pilliga forest and nearby grazing land.
The decision was welcomed by the federal energy and emissions reduction minister, Angus Taylor, and the state’s business lobby, but condemned by local farmers and conservation groups, who feared it would be toxic to the local environment. The federal government has pushed for a “gas-fired recovery” from the Covid-19 pandemic.
In its decision, the department said the project was in the public interest as it was critical for energy security in NSW, and was unlikely to result in significant impacts on the community or environment, including not adversely affecting groundwater resources. It found it could be designed to minimise any negative impacts.
The department said about 98% of nearly 23,000 submissions it received on the proposal opposed the project. It said most argued the project would damage the region, affect biodiversity in the Pilliga forest and lead to substantial greenhouse gas emissions. Gas is usually described as having half the emissions of coal when burned, but recent studies have suggested it could be more.
The planning minister, Rob Stokes, said the independent commission
would hold online public hearings before a final decision was made “to provide certainty for the community and industry”. A decision is expected within 12 weeks unless the commission applies for an extension.
In a joint statement, farmers and the anti-coal-seam gas group Lock the Gate described the development as “destructive and polluting” and called on the independent commission to reject it. It said the government had backed it despite revelations that landholders affected by the gas industry may not be able to get public liability insurance.
It said the department’s report suggested the project may involve the destruction of about 1,000 hectares of koala habitat, that the expected contaminated salt waste that would be produced had nearly doubled and that questions about the impact on underground water remained unanswered.
Narrabri farmer Stuart Murray said the government had not implemented 14 of 16 recommendations to limit the risk of coal seam gas made nearly six years ago by the then NSW chief scientist, now Independent Planning Commission chair, Mary O’Kane. “Our government has betrayed us,” Murray said.
Santos’s chief executive, Kevin Gallagher, said a decision on the development was “more important than ever” after the Covid-19 shutdown. The company says it could provide up to 200 terajoules of gas a day for domestic use for 20 years, equivalent to 50% of NSW demand. “Narrabri means more jobs and more investment in New South Wales and the local region, and lower gas and electricity prices for customers in the state” Gallagher said.
Georgina Woods, of Lock the Gate, said consideration of the project had been highly politicised. “Political slogans about gas prices are contradicted by the department’s own assessment report, which admits that if gas prices fall by 30% the project’s economic profile would be a net negative,” she said.
Chris Gambian, the CEO of the Nature Conservation Council, said turning the wilderness into an “industrial gas field” would poison groundwater, destroy forest, increase the risk of bushfires and endanger koalas and other threatened species.
Stephen Cartwright, the CEO of Business NSW, said the development was needed to secure gas supply. “Without the Narrabri project coming on line, supply will just about disappear, costs will soar and businesses will be forced to close, meaning even more jobs will be lost in NSW,” he said.
Confirmation of the government’s support follows it last week bringing forward a vote on legislation that would have imposed a moratorium on coalseam gas developments. Introduced by independent MP Justin Field, the bill passed the upper house with support from Labor, the Greens and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers, but was defeated by the Coalition majority in the lower house.
The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, had said in January that the government was in the final stages of considering the development, describing it as one of “two or three options” to deliver 70 petajoules of additional gas a year promised under a $2bn energy agreement with the federal government.
Field said the government of brought forward the vote on a moratorium to avoid a public campaign targeting National MPs. He said the project was “an ecological and economic disaster waiting to happen” and farmers had a right to feel betrayed.
“This industry has never had a social licence, it was clear from the debate in parliament last week it doesn’t have a political licence, and the fact the majority of the chief scientist’s recommendations haven’t been implemented means it doesn’t have a scientific licence,” he said.