Metgasco starts to drill at Glenugie in the Clarence Valley

 

Metgasco appears to be leading a charmed life when it comes to government support as the coal seam gas industry appears to have the NSW Energy and Resources Minister Chris Hartcher and the O’Farrell Government in its corner.

 

The Managing Director's Presentation to the 13 November 2012 Annual General Meeting supplied to the Australian Stock Exchange is littered with favourable quotes from government and Chairman Nicolas Heath told this meeting that the political cloud over coal seam gas in NSW has been removed.

 

As I write Metgasco is said to be clearing land at Glenugie on the NSW North Coast so that yet more exploratory drilling can commence in the face of widespread community opposition.

 

South Grafton firm McLennans Earth Moving is said to be preparing the site and embattled construction company AJ Lucas contracted to undertake the drilling.

 

According to The Daily Examiner  today:

 

COAL seam gas miner Metgasco has downplayed the significance of activity at a site at Glenugie where it is preparing to take rock samples.

A neighbour, George Oxenbridge, was alarmed when he saw trucks and an excavator on the site on Avenue Rd at Glenugie yesterday.

Mr Oxenbridge said Metgasco had promised to notify people in the region before any activity took place, but nothing had been provided.

Late yesterday CSG protesters were considering a blockade of the site.

What is fascinating about this mining company’s relentless drive is that it is already operating at a considerable loss in a period when even it admits that it has been unable to attract a major player to farm in to its project and in a market which it told its shareholders is currently oversupplied with gas on the east coast of Australia.

 

In July 2012 The Australian reported that; UBS analyst Gordon Ramsay said the whole LNG industry was building projects in a high-cost environment. "The issue for the (CSG) industry is that when you get out of the sweet spots, the wells aren't as productive and that means you have to drill more wells or use more technology to drill more horizontal ones or you fracture stimulate and that means higher costs to get the gas out," he said.

By September analysts were downgrading Australian energy company valuations because of expected supply-based pressure on LNG prices and worries over the prospect that LNG export prices may drop dramatically.

 

While in October James Baulderstone, Santos Vice-president for Eastern Australia, in his turn admitted that the return to coal seam gas producers is not growing; The reality is that the price of natural gas has remained essentially flat for the past 10 years.

 

Metgasco’s monthly listed share price has reflected this overall situation – going from above 1.100 in 2008 to below 0.200 in 2012.

 

Despite its rhetoric for media and local government consumption, the company does not appear to have prospective customers knocking down its door and is hardly likely to find a ready market for residential customers given the impact of CSG industry costs on price are predicted to keep network and retailer charges rising.

 

The demand for domestic gas generally will remain relatively flat to slow growing through to 2027 according to the ACCC in its State Of The Energy Market 2009 report.

 

It would appear that Metgasco is likely to join other suppliers in finding that, even in a highly competitive and volatile international market, exporting its product overseas is the more attractive option.

 

That may create yet another headache for the Northern Rivers region as the company is still keeping its options open with regard to a floating LNG facility off the coast.

 

One thing which does stand out is that Metgasco is a small-time player in the Australian gas industry and one has a strong suspicion that local communities will see little benefit from its activities – now or in the future.

 

Metgasco might believe that politics no longer plays a part in its wildly optimistic plans, but all three tiers of government may find that this company’s activities will cause them considerable pain at the ballot box over the next decade.

Black-necked Stalkers Twitchathon Report (part 2)

One spinoff from searching for nocturnal birds is that you often see other fauna especially mammals.  The only drawback is that you can’t add them to the tally.  We had great views of a Long-nosed Potoroo at the base of the Gibraltar Range and two Rufous Bettongs between the Range and Grafton.  A young Parma Wallaby in the Washpool and a third Rufous Bettong on the way to the coast were others seen.  Dodging large alpha male Eastern Grey Kangaroos on the road was also an entertaining pastime which kept us on our guard.  It was still dark when we left the house on the coast north-west of Grafton the next morning.  As we climbed into the Land Cruiser we heard a Brush Cuckoo, our first bird of the day.  Off to the coastal heath where it was still very dark due to heavy cloud cover.  It wasn’t long though until we heard a Ground Parrot and also ticked off White-cheeked and Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters.  Then to the estuary where we were welcomed by a vociferous Leaden Flycatcher as we were trying to identify a flock of small terns that weren’t right to be Little or Common Terns.  It turned out that they were Whiskered Terns, more common in freshwater wetlands than estuaries in our area.  A grey morp Eastern Reef Egret, a Striated Heron and a diversity of shorebirds were added to the list.  Two small plump shorebirds took some time to identify as the overcast weather made them look darker than normal.  They were Sanderlings, a species not usually found in this estuary.  As we left the estuary an Eastern Osprey flew over the road and brought the total to 141 at 6.17 am.  At a small lake nearby a Swamp Harrier was observed and a pair of Pied Oystercatchers was at their nest and at a rock platform two Sharp-tailed Sandpipers were the first seen by us for the season.   A large raft of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters were foraging off the rocks but the Australasian Gannet was nowhere to be seen.  Four Coastal Emus were in a cane paddock on the trip back to the Pacific Highway.  As we disembarked from the vehicle at the Iluka Nature Reserve we heard a monarch.  Someone called out Spectacled Monarch and we all agreed at first but then I the realised that it was a White-eared Monarch and not a Spectacled Monarch.  We did add Spectacled Monarch as well as Regent Bowerbird and Large-billed Scrubwren before leaving the rainforest for the estuary.  At an inlet we heard Mangrove Honeyeater and then on to Woody Head.  The extremely high tide meant that all of the shorebirds and terns were clustered together on rocks, making it relatively easy to check them off.  There were Greater and Lesser Sand Plovers and Little and Common Terns, making 180 species at 9.39 am.  To be continued.

Greg Clancy

Head Stalker

Black-necked Stalkers Twitchathon Team 

 

* GuestSpeak is a feature of North Coast Voices allowing Northern Rivers residents to make satirical or serious comment on issues that concern them. Posts of 250-300 words or less can be submitted to ncvguestspeak AT gmail.com.au for consideration.

I'm Kevin, I'm from Lismore and I'm here to wipe the egg off my phiz

Half the Clarence Valley must’ve been rolling on their kitchen floors on Thursday morning 15^th November 2012 when NSW North Coast Nats candidate at the next federal election, Little Kevvie Hogan, came out swinging at sitting MP Janelle Saffin in The Daily Examiner:

"While I have the utmost respect for Her Excellency Marie Bashir, I must voice my vehement opposition to any plans to pinch water from the Northern Rivers," Mr Hogan said.

"These plans have been rehashed time and time again, and each time the people of the Northern Rivers have made their position loud and clear - not a drop of our water should be diverted to the Darling.

"Ms Bashir's comments may have won a few fans in Menindee, but she's in for a shock if she thinks they will get any sort of a hearing within our local communities.

"Anyone with grand designs on our water should consider themselves on notice - Northern Rivers people won't stand for it, and I will be doing my utmost to make sure it is never allowed to happen.

"I would call on the local Member to offer a similar guarantee, rather than standing idly by and allowing these outrageous plans to go unchallenged."

What Kevvie forgot was this 6^th October 2012 published letter to the editor:

“Not A Drop still holds water
I have noticed a growing number of correspondents expressing concern about the Clarence River, specifically about those who would dam it and divert our water inland or to Queensland.
I reiterate my rock solid commitment to 'Not A Drop', the slogan we all adopted from The Daily Examiner's highly successful 2007 campaign against such moves.
I simply will not allow it, and the Australian Government, as expressed many times through the Leader of the House Anthony Albanese in Federal Parliament, will not allow it.
I wanted to put this firm policy stance on the public record again, for the benefit of people among us who have moved to the Clarence Valley in recent times.
I am sure that these new residents will be surprised and shocked to hear that many vested interests have tried this on for years.
I have urged locals to make submissions to the NSW Legislative Council's Standing Committee on State Developments' current inquiry into the adequacy of water storages in New South Wales.
While the closing date for submissions was August 31, the inquiry is prepared to take late submissions for another six weeks. They can be emailed to statedevelopment@parliament.nsw.gov.au
The primary contact is Cathryn Cummins on 02 9230 3528. I understand the inquiry will hold further publics hearings in Wagga Wagga and Sydney in November and possibly more hearings early next year.
One thing I can be sure of is that there will be some of the regulars who want to raid our water supply - the mighty Clarence.
I call them the River Raiders; they seek every and all opportunity to lay claim to our river.
I thought it was a big worry when the NSW National Party's 2008 State Conference resolved to "support greater efforts to reduce the amount of eastern water lost to the ocean and campaign for more in-depth investigations into finding ways to turn this water inland." - Tweed Daily News, June 16, 2008.
I urge Clarence Valley residents to be watchful of anyone who would have designs on tampering with our most precious natural resource - water.

Janelle Saffin MP

Federal Member for Page”

Now his silliness is writ large in The Daily Examiner and the laughter continues because a day after his public dig at Saffin he was quoted again; "No I did not read that particular letter," Mr Hogan said. He said his comments were solely in reaction to Prof Bashir's comments and not Ms Saffin's long-held stance on the issue.”

Kevvie either doesn’t bother to buy the main newspapers in the electorate he hopes to represent or he just doesn’t bother to read anything but Chris Gulaptis’ old election campaign running sheet.

Doubt now exists over all NSW mining exploration licences and mining leases granted since 1991

Chart from Eddie could always phone a friend
in The Sunday Telegraph 18 November 2012

 
The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption is currently; investigating, among other issues, the circumstances surrounding a decision made in 2008 by the then Minister for Primary Industries and Minister for Mineral Resources, the Hon Ian Macdonald MLC, to open a mining area in the Bylong Valley for coal exploration, including whether the decision was influenced by the Hon Edward Obeid MLC (Operation Jasper).

There are now questions being asked about other NSW mining exploration licences and mining leases approved or extended between 1991 and 2012, with the media reporting allegations that an unspecified number of departmental files are now missing and therefore not available to the Inquiry.

Doyles Creek Mining, NuCoal Resources and Newcrest are three of the corporate names being mentioned in relation to alleged irregularities with their licences/leases.

Given the large number of exploration licences that have been granted over land on the NSW North Coast it might be advisable for concerned residents and community groups to investigate the application background of these licences, as well as the state political donation history of those mining companies involved.

Latest on Coal Seam Gas fugitive emissions

Click on image to enlarge

The Brisbane Times 14 November 2012:

Vast amounts of methane appear to be leaking undetected from Australia's biggest coal seam gas field, according to world-first research that undercuts claims by the gas industry.

Testing inside the Tara gas field, near Condamine on Queensland's Western Downs, found some greenhouse gas levels over three times higher than nearby districts, according to the study by researchers at Southern Cross University.

Methane, carbon dioxide and other gases appear to be leaking up through the soil and bubbling up through rivers at an astonishing rate, the researchers said.

"The concentrations here are higher than any measured in gas fields anywhere else that I can think of, including in Russia," said Damien Maher, a biochemist who helped conduct the tests. "The extent of these enriched concentrations is significant."….

The team also took samples of airborne methane from major wetlands and high-density cattle operations near Casino in northern NSW.

ABC Rural 15 November 2012:

Dr Damien Maher says they can't say definitively that the higher methane levels are due to coal seam gas mining activity in the Tara region.

"What we can say is that we've got multiple lines of evidence that suggests that is what's causing it, so we looked at the chemical footprint of the methane that was added to the atmosphere and that chemical footprint was the same as coal seam gas in that area," he said.

"We looked at other traces, radon and CO2, and we found similar trends with those as well".

The researchers from SCU Centre for Coastal Biogeochemistry Research:

Issac Santos curriculum vitae

Dr. Damian Maher curriculum vitae

Joint Submission on National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Determination 2012 - Fugitive Emissions from Coal Seam Gas

Rather predictably Metgasco's managing director complains that the research shouldn't have been released until it was peer reviewed. Conveniently forgetting that the submission was made as part of public comment sought by the Federal Government on a consultation draft of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Amendment Determination 2012 and, it can be found on Dept. of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency website along with other submissions received.

Indian Myna Control Workshop at Yamba, 10am 30 November 2012

 

Bishop in check

 

Well, what did the Federal Liberal Party expect? Once it began to use its Deputy Leader as the main attack dog targeting the Prime Minister, eventually it would become a case of political pot kettle black.

Practicing law in Perth in the 1980s with Robinson Cox - then reportedly as a managing partner with Clayton Utz - before entering Federal Parliament in 1998 and, with Clayton Utz becoming somewhat notorious as one of the law firms hired by CSR to fight asbestos disease compensation claims there were always going to be negatives associated with her name.

 

 

News.com.au 3 December 2007:

 

DEPUTY Liberal leader Julie Bishop has defended her efforts to deny compensation to WA asbestos victims in her role as a corporate lawyer in the 1980s.

In Australia's greatest single industrial disaster, an estimated 1000 people living and working near the mine at Wittenoom have died from asbestos-related diseases including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma.
Ms Bishop, the federal Opposition's industrial relations spokeswoman, confirmed her role as an instructing solicitor for mine owner CSR in cases involving three asbestos victims who worked at the mine.
But she rejected a plea from the Asbestos Diseases Society to apologise for her actions. Ms Bishop said on Friday she commiserated with those affected, who included CSR executives, whom she had represented.

 

The Telegraph 18 November 2012:

 

Lawyer Peter Gordon told Australian Doctor magazine in 2007: "We had to fight even for the right of dying cancer victims to get a speedy trial. I recall sitting in the WA Supreme Court in an interlocutory hearing for the test cases involving Wittenoom miners Mr Peter Heys and Mr Tim Barrow. CSR was represented by Ms Julie Bishop (then Julie Gillon). (She) was rhetorically asking the court why workers should be entitled to jump court queues just because they were dying."

News.com.au 18 November 2012:

 ABC Four Corners 10 June 2002 on the subject of Clayton Utz:



 

* Montage from Twitter