Determining the impacts of coal seam gas extraction on water resources and water-dependent assets

2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 519 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Post ◽  
P. A. Baker
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Coal Seam ◽  
Coal Seam Gas ◽  
Cumulative Impact ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Management Area ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Unconventional Gas Development ◽  
Eastern Seaboard ◽  
Gas Supply

As recently as two years ago, there were numerous proposals to develop coal seam gas projects across eastern Australia. Today the picture is very different. While significant coal seam gas development has occurred in the Surat Basin, Metgasco has surrendered their licences and AGL have indicated that they will not proceed in Gloucester. The only coal seam gas development that is still proceeding in NSW is Santos’s proposal in the Liverpool Plains (Namoi). However, recent developments in Australian Government policy to increase gas supply on the eastern seaboard means that the results of these assessments will inform future decisions. Research carried out as part of the Bioregional Assessment Programme (BAP) has shown some surprising results in the Richmond River (Clarence-Moreton bioregion) regarding the potential impacts of coal seam gas development on the water resources and water-dependent assets of that region. This study will show how we developed a groundwater and surface water cumulative impact model in the Clarence-Moreton bioregion, and present the key findings from that modelling. Similar cumulative impact assessments are currently underway in the Maranoa-Balonne-Condamine, Gloucester, Hunter, Galilee, and Namoi regions and we expect these to be published by late 2017. As part of a core tenet of transparency in the BAP, the data collected and models developed as part of these assessments will be freely available for Industry proponents, State regulators and other interested parties to access and utilise. The Surat cumulative management area in south-eastern Queensland has provided a structure for developing coal seam gas resources while protecting water resources via a cumulative approach to management. We propose that the models we have developed would provide the basis of a similar structure to assess and manage cumulative impacts in regions across Australia that may see coal seam gas or other forms of unconventional gas development.

Synergies in the role of the Office of Groundwater Impact Assessment and the Independent Expert Scientific Committee on coal seam gas and large coal mining development in environmental assessments

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Chris Pigram ◽  
Sanjeev Pandey ◽  
Peter Baker
Keyword(s):  
Coal Seam ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Coal Mining ◽  
Scientific Committee ◽  
Coal Seam Gas ◽  
Cumulative Impact ◽  
Environmental Assessments ◽  
Independent Expert ◽  
Management Area

The Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development (IESC) is a statutory committee that provides scientific advice to Australian governments on the impacts that each coal seam gas (CSG) and large coal mining development may have on water resources. In this context, the IESC consider all aspects of a water resource, including water, organisms and ecosystems that contribute to or rely on them. The Office of Groundwater Impact Assessment (OGIA) is an independent statutory entity responsible for undertaking cumulative impact assessments from CSG and other petroleum production in Queensland, including the Surat Cumulative Management Area (CMA). OGIA also establishes impact management arrangements and identifies responsible tenure holders to implement specific aspects of those arrangements. Neither the IESC nor OGIA are regulators. Due to their respective functions both entities have different roles and interaction with CSG development in the Surat CMA. The IESC and OGIA engage regularly to ensure a shared understanding of knowledge, research and management. This paper provides an overview of key synergies between the roles and functions of the IESC and OGIA and considerations for proponents when using OGIA assessment in their environmental assessments that are referred to IESC for advice.

DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE KOGAN NORTH AND TIPTON WEST COAL SEAM GAS (CSG) FIELDS, SURAT BASIN, SOUTHEAST QUEENSLAND

2006 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 367 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.W. Day ◽  
R.F. Prefontaine ◽  
P.A.J. Bubendorfer ◽  
M.H. Oberhardt ◽  
B.J. Pinder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coal Seam ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Heritage Management ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Coal Seam Gas ◽  
Cultural Heritage Management ◽  
Well Completion ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Coal Measures

In 2001, Arrow Energy NL, a fledgling coal seam gas (CSG) explorer, drilled the first wells of a multi-well exploration program in two Authorities To Prospect (ATP) permits—ATPs 683P and 676P—that covered an area totalling 13,817 km2 of the Jurassic Walloon Coal Measures in the eastern Surat Basin. The objective was to discover significant CSG resources and, if successful, to commercialise to reserve status. Early exploration success in 2002 saw the discovery of the Kogan North and Tipton West CSG fields. This paper reviews the discovery and subsequent appraisal and development work that Arrow Energy has completed to establish production from these fields.By 2004, Arrow Energy had independently certified Probablereserves in the Kogan North field of 85 PJ, and Possible reserves of 157 PJ. Results from a five-well CSG pilot operation demonstrated the feasibility of commercial gas flow rates sufficiently to justify commercialising CSG from the Walloon Coal Measures in the Kogan North field. Under the terms of a staged development agreement, CS Energy Ltd—Queensland’s largest electricity generator—farmed into the Kogan North Project to earn a 50% interest in PL194 and an adjoining portion of ATP 676P by funding A$13.1 million of the project’s development and appraisalcosts. The funds provided by CS Energy covered the majority of the development costs required for Arrow’s Kogan North development project. The initial gas sales contract from Kogan North will supply sales gas of 4 PJ/a for 15 years to CS Energy from March 2006. Arrow Energy retains the remaining 50% interest and operates the project.With 25 PJ Probable, 90 PJ Probable and 1,980 PJ Possiblegas reserves certified independently, the Tipton West field could potentially be one of the largest onshore gas fields in eastern Australia. Final appraisal of the Tipton West field is currently underway with financial close on the development expected in late 2005. Beach Petroleum Ltd has entered into an agreement to fund the A$35 million required for upstream developmentto supply the initial 10 PJ/a sales gas from the field in 2007, in exchange for 40% interest in th Dalby block of ATP683P. Arrow Energy retains the remaining 60% interest and operates the project.Diligent environmental and land management systems are required with the development of any CSG field. For example, formation water produced from CSG activities needs to be managed effectively. To deal with this water Arrow Energy is developing and implementing several innovative strategies, including forced evaporation dams, water supply to local coal-washing plants and trialling desalination plants to provide drinking water for nearby towns, aquaculture and stock watering.Arrow Energy has also implemented a Cultural Heritage Management Plan within the development areas in cooperation with the local indigenous claimant groups, the Western Wakka Wakka and the Barunggam peoples. The plan was designed to minimise risk of any disturbance to indigenous artefacts and areas of significance during the exploration, construction and ongoing operations associated with the development of both gas fields.The discovery and future development of the Kogan North and Tipton West fields has been achieved by using an appropriate mix of geological evaluation, efficient drilling techniques, innovative well completion methods and successful marketing strategies, integrated with cooperative environmental and cultural heritage management systems.

Sedimentology and stratigraphy of an intra-cratonic basin coal seam gas play: Walloon Subgroup of the Surat Basin, eastern Australia

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.A. Martin ◽  
M. Wakefield ◽  
M.K. MacPhail ◽  
T. Pearce ◽  
H. E. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Coal Seam ◽  
Coal Seam Gas ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Cratonic Basin

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF COAL SEAM GAS IN EASTERN QUEENSLAND

2006 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 329 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.L. Baker ◽  
W.R. Skerman
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Coal Seam ◽  
Commercial Production ◽  
Significant Part ◽  
Coal Seams ◽  
Coal Seam Gas ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Company Limited ◽  
Reliable Source ◽  
Gas Supply

The commercial production of coal seam gas [CSG] in Australia is only a decade old. Over the last 10 years it has become a significant part of the Australian gas industry, particularly in Queensland where about 31 PJ or 30% of all natural gas used in the State was recovered from coal seams in eastern Queensland. In 2005 CSG was expected to have supplied 55 PJ or 44 % of the eastern Queensland gas demand. The mining, mineral processing and power generations in northwest Queensland, serviced by the Carpentaria Gas Pipeline, will continue to use gas from the Cooper-Eromanga Basin.The CSG industry is reaching a stage of maturity following the commissioning of a number of fields while some significant new projects are either in the commissioning phase or under development. By the end of 2008 CSG production in Queensland is expected to reach 150 PJ per year, the quantity needed to meet Gas Supply Agreements for CSG that are presently in place.Certified Proved and Probable (2P) gas reserves at 30 June 2005 in eastern Queensland were calculated to be 4,579 PJ, of which 4,283 PJ were CSG. Gas reserves (2P) for eastern Queensland a decade earlier were less than 100 PJ with those for CSG being less than 5 PJ.The coal seam gas industry in both the Bowen and Surat basins—which includes major gas producers such as Origin Energy Limited and Santos Limited along with smaller producers such as Arrow Energy NL, CH4 Gas Limited, Molopo Australia Limited and Queensland Gas Company Limited—is now accepted by major gas users as being suppliers of another reliable source of natural gas.

Groundwater management – working with Queensland and EPBC regulation and processes

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 516
Author(s):  
James Barker ◽  
Sanjeev Pandey ◽  
Jackie McKeay ◽  
Kerynne Birch ◽  
Matthew Paull
Keyword(s):  
Coal Seam ◽  
Groundwater Management ◽  
Process Efficiency ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Environment Protection ◽  
Environmental Standards ◽  
Coal Seam Gas ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
Epbc Act ◽  
Gas Supply

Onshore gas development projects are often referred for assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), administered by the Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Energy (DOEE), and coal seam gas projects may require additional assessment under the ‘water trigger’ legislation. Queensland Government approval is also required and both governments’ approval processes can intersect. The two processes may have different scope and timeframes, and these are important considerations for proponents bringing forward new gas supply and project expansions. As co-regulators, the Queensland Government and DOEE routinely look for opportunities to better align regulatory practices and ensure they remain contemporary and fit for purpose. In this context, they are exploring opportunities to improve the administration of requirements for Queensland gas projects to enhance the ability of regulators to assess project approvals, ensure compliance, improve process efficiency, and maintain high environmental standards.

Development of a Management Tool to Support the Beneficial Use of Treated Coal Seam Gas Water for Irrigation in Eastern Australia

2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Jakubowski ◽  
Nathan Haws ◽  
David Ellerbroek ◽  
John Murtagh ◽  
David Macfarlane
Keyword(s):  
Coal Seam ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Coal Seam Gas ◽  
Beneficial Use ◽  
Eastern Australia

THE RISE AND RISE OF COAL SEAM GAS IN THE BOWEN BASIN

2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 647 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.M. Riley
Keyword(s):  
Coal Seam ◽  
Commercial Production ◽  
Rapid Rate ◽  
Coal Seam Gas ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Recent Interest ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
World Class ◽  
Gas Market ◽  
Under Construction

The coal seam gas (CSG) industry has been active in Australia for almost three decades, with interest largely focussed on the Bowen and Sydney basins. Sporadic activity has also occurred in a number of other areas including the Galilee, Ipswich, Clarence–Moreton, Gunnedah, Gloucester, and Otway basins to name a few, with significant recent interest shown in the promising Surat Basin. Of these basins it is the Bowen Basin in eastern central Queensland which has continued to shine as the premier coal seam gas province in the country.From humble beginnings in the mid-1970s in the Moura area, CSG from the Bowen Basin now supplies around 20% of Queensland gas demand. Since the start of commercial production from the basin in 1996, production has grown to about 20 PJ per year from five separate fields, with three new fields under construction expected to more than double this volume over the next 2–3 years.The largest contribution to this growth will come from the Comet Ridge region which is proving itself to be a world class CSG deposit. The high-productivity fairway in the south of the region extends over an area about 80 km long and 20 km wide and includes the Tipperary Fairview field, and the Origin Energy Spring Gully project. In the last year proved and probable gas reserves have more than doubled to 1,500 PJ across the fairway, with upside recoverable gas estimated to be 4,700 PJ. The rapid rate of CSG reserves increase in the Bowen Basin demonstrates the key role this industry will play in the eastern Australia gas market.

Prediction and management of solids production in typical Surat Basin coal seam gas reservoirs, eastern Australia

2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 444
Author(s):  
Abbas Khaksar ◽  
Morteza Jami ◽  
Ahmadreza Younessi
Keyword(s):  
Coal Seam ◽  
Water Saturation ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Coal Seam Gas ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Short Life Span ◽  
Sand Control ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Different Characteristics

The exploiting of coal seam gas (CSG) reservoirs worldwide has developed rapidly. These reservoirs are located in different geological settings and have different characteristics. In eastern Australia for instance, Surat Basin CSG reservoirs are typically thin and interbedded with thick layers of sandstone, siltstones and shales, and occur at shallow depths, adjacent to fresh-water aquifers. For commercial gas production from wet- and low- permeability thin CSG reservoirs, both the hydrostatic pressure and the water saturation have to be reduced through a de-watering and pressure depletion process. These mechanisms increase the risk of rock failure and solids production before or from the onset of gas production in many CSG wells. In thinly bedded CSG reservoirs, solids production from coals may not be a concern, but sanding from interbed rocks—some with abundant water sensitive clay minerals—may be a significant source of solids production. Given the relatively low drilling and completion costs and short life span of the CSG wells, many of the conventional sand control measures such as screens or gravel packs may be of limited use or not applicable. In this extended abstract, examples of solids production issues and the potential sources of solids in typical Surat Basin CSG wells are shown, and options for solids control are discussed.

scholarly journals Genomic and phenotypic insights point to diverse ecological strategies by facultative anaerobes obtained from subsurface coal seams

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Silas H. W. Vick ◽  
Paul Greenfield ◽  
Sasha G. Tetu ◽  
David J. Midgley ◽  
Ian T. Paulsen
Keyword(s):  
Coal Seam ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Early Time ◽  
Ecological Strategies ◽  
Coal Seams ◽  
Coal Seam Gas ◽  
Phenotypic Analysis ◽  
Facultative Anaerobes ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Economic Perspectives

Abstract Microbes in subsurface coal seams are responsible for the conversion of the organic matter in coal to methane, resulting in vast reserves of coal seam gas. This process is important from both environmental and economic perspectives as coal seam gas is rapidly becoming a popular fuel source worldwide and is a less carbon intensive fuel than coal. Despite the importance of this process, little is known about the roles of individual bacterial taxa in the microbial communities carrying out this process. Of particular interest is the role of members of the genus Pseudomonas, a typically aerobic taxa which is ubiquitous in coal seam microbial communities worldwide and which has been shown to be abundant at early time points in studies of ecological succession on coal. The current study performed aerobic isolations of coal seam microbial taxa generating ten facultative anaerobic isolates from three coal seam formation waters across eastern Australia. Subsequent genomic sequencing and phenotypic analysis revealed a range of ecological strategies and roles for these facultative anaerobes in biomass recycling, suggesting that this group of organisms is involved in the degradation of accumulated biomass in coal seams, funnelling nutrients back into the microbial communities degrading coal to methane.

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