Coal Seam Gas: and so the industry hard sell begins again

The Northern Rivers needs to closely watch this situation and make it views known to federal and state government……

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in his speech to the National Press Club 11 July 2013:

The discussions I have had in the last couple of weeks with both business and the unions have been useful in elaborating the possible content of a new national competitiveness agenda for Australia.

Thus far we have agreed on seven broad areas of necessary policy work together.

Number one: Domestic electricity price regulation in Australia, and the impact of the current carbon price as well as the future availability of competitively priced domestic gas supplies are high on the agenda…..

Furthermore, reforms are needed for the supply of competitively priced gas for Australian businesses and households…..

Number four: We need a new approach to the regulatory impost on business from all levels of government.

This particularly applies to multiple and conflicting environmental assessment requirements for state and federal governments.

Surely it lies within our wit and wisdom to begin by integrating the assessment procedures and reports at present separately mandated by the Commonwealth and the states.

Surely we should aim at having one single integrated assessment system, even if we continue to have two different decision points.

An integrated assessment system removes so much of the regulatory burden faced by businesses when trying to get a project off the ground.

I have already discussed this with Premier O’Farrell in particular and I want to take this discussion further. 

Financial Review 12 July 2013:

Lower energy prices through increased coal seam gas production and changes to the regulation of power prices will be pivotal to a seven-point productivity plan Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will take to the election.

The plan would require business and unions to work together in an Accord-style “pact” to boost productivity beyond the mining boom.

The push to boost coal seam gas will include less environmental regulation, pushing NSW to fast-track approval of two major developments and leaning on the Victorian government to lift an exploration moratorium.

The Guardian UK 12 July 2013:

A huge coal seam gas project in New South Wales is emerging as a test case, pitting Kevin Rudd's promises of lower gas prices and "streamlined" environmental processes against Labor's recent pledges to protect the environment.

Gas producers are demanding the prime minister rescind Julia Gillard's final environmental law: the requirement that the federal government assess the impact of coal seam gas wells on the water table.

Santos is ready to begin drilling 18 CSG exploration wells near Narrabri in New South Wales, including in the Pilliga forest, to prepare for a planned 400 well CSG project it says could provide one quarter of NSW's gas needs.

The project has been nominated by federal sources as one that could be sped up by better environmental decision-making to help increase gas supply and reduce prices, in line with the plan outlined by Rudd in Thursday's national press club speech.

The company argues its exploration plans, a pared-back version of its original exploration intentions in the state's north-west, should not require a full, and possibly lengthy, federal environmental assessment under the commonwealth government's long-standing legal powers to protect endangered species or the recently added powers to consider the cumulative impact of CSG wells on the water table.

ABC PM 12 July 2013:

JUSTINE PARKER: Richard Denniss says unlocking supply can do little to lower gas prices once Australian gas prices is linked to the world market.
RICHARD DENNISS: Whether we double or treble the amount of coal seam gas, whether we build floating LNG plants in any part of the country, none of that will have any significant impact on the world gas price. And the fact is soon Australian consumers and businesses will be paying a much higher world price than the local low price they've become accustomed to.
JUSTINE PARKER: A spokesman for Kevin Rudd says he'll work with the states and territories to see if changes to gas regulation can halt energy price rises.
The gas transmission industry believes one way to unlock supply is to reduce state-level restrictions on coal seam gas.
Here's the chief executive of the Australian Pipeline Industry Association, Cheryl Cartwright.
CHERYL CARTWRIGHT: With restrictions on access in coal seam gas, that is reducing access to supply. Queensland's actually doing that well now, but there needs to be a way of working closely with the producers and the farmers, working together on the land to make the most of the land for the energy for the rest of country as well as the agriculture. It can be done.

ABC News 12 July 2013:

Kevin Rudd has named electricity prices as the first plank of his seven-point national competitiveness plan. He is targeting gas supply as one key area for reform. The ABC understands setting aside some of Australia's gas for domestic use is off the table. The gas pipeline industry is now urging the Prime Minister to push governments in the eastern states to lift their coal seam gas restrictions.

Australian Mining 12 July 2013:

Apex Energy have been denied permission to drill 16 exploration wells within Illawarra water catchment areas.

The NSW Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) rejected the proposed drilling program yesterday, stating that more conclusive studies on the impact of CSG activities to drinking water were needed.

PAC said that until the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer’s review on the impacts, along with the state government’s resulting policy decisions were made, it would be inappropriate to approve the drilling program.

PAC found that the impacts of CSG activities ‘were being questioned in a range of studies in NSW, Australia and internationally’.

“It appears that the potential risks of coal seam gas activities are still being established and that there is some uncertainty regarding the potential impacts of the suite of coal seam gas extraction techniques which could be applied within various geological formations,” PAC said.

The Daily Examiner 15 July 2013:

Federal Member for Page Janelle Saffin has denied reports claiming Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will make the expansion of coal-seam gas a priority in a wider push to tackle high electricity prices.

In an agenda-setting National Press Club speech last Thursday, Mr Rudd outlined a seven-point "productivity plan" which included targeting of high domestic electricity prices, with the "future availability of competitively priced domestic gas supplies ... high on the agenda."

"Reforms are needed for the supply of competitively priced gas for Australian businesses and households," Mr Rudd declared.

While there was no mention of CSG in the speech, an Australian Financial Review story by veteran political journalist Philip Coorey quoted unnamed sources saying the policy would involve CSG expansion, specifically the fast-tracking of two major NSW CSG projects and "leaning on the Victorian Government to lift an exploration moratorium".....

 "The Prime Minister made absolutely no mention of CSG mining in his speech or elsewhere," Ms Saffin said.

"My position is clear on Coal Seam Gas mining."

"I fought hard for the Federal changes to the EP&BC Act to protect our water. The water trigger legislation went through and is now law. This offers some protection for our area from CSG," she said.

A spokesman for Richmond MP Justine Elliott labelled the AFR story "mischief-making", claiming it was easy to "stir the pot" with "unnamed sources".

It remains unclear how the Federal Government could move to rein in a future of high gas prices.....