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'Massive battle': Santos lodges long-awaited plans for controversial CSG project

Peter Hannam
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Energy giant Santos has lodged its long-delayed application to develop the controversial Narrabri coal seam gas project, a move opponents say will trigger a big battle and is merely a "fattening up" exercise ahead of a sale.

Santos on Wednesday submitted its State Significant Development Application and associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the new billion-dollar proposed gas field in the Pilliga State Forest and its surrounds.

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Controversial CSG wastewater ponds

An aerial view of the wastewater treatment plant at the Santos coal seam gas plant in Leewood, north-western NSW.

The venture, which the company says could supply as much as half of NSW's gas needs and generate 1300 jobs in its construction phase and 200 ongoing ones, is "based on the best available science" to ensure the environment and water are protected, Santos said in a statement.

"The EIS has concluded the project can proceed safely with minimal and manageable risk to the environment," Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher said.

"The Narrabri Gas Project has the potential to play a significant role in the domestic energy space."

However, long-standing opponents of the plan predict the submission of plans will reignite a war over unconventional gas developments in NSW that has already seen off projects at Bentley and Gloucester, and prompted the Coalition government under former premier Mike Baird to buy back most of the CSG licences.

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"The news that Santos has lodged their EIS will reignite a massive battle in NSW over coal seam gas, which the farmers and community will win," Jeremy Buckingham, the NSW Greens energy spokesman, said.

Mr Buckingham also pointed to a statement from Santos to the stock exchange in December that relegated the Narrabri project to a "non-core asset". 

"Santos has recently made it clear they have little interest in developing the project and have instead spun it off into a separate entity, ready for sale," Mr Buckingham said.

"The government should not allow Santos to jerk people around, waste their time and create uncertainty just to fatten up the project for the stock market."

Fairfax Media sought comment from Santos. It is understood that the venture - which is 80 per cent owned by the company and 20 per cent by EnergyAustralia - could make it off the "non-core" list if its prospects improve.

EnergyAustralia has written down the value of its share to zero worth.

The news comes a day after pipeline owner APA Group outlined plans for a $500 million gas pipeline linking the Narrabri ​to existing operations - subject to the project proceding.

'On merit'

Although Santos announced it had made the submission, details of the application and the EIS may not be made public for several weeks, leaving the local community in the dark as to the expected impacts.

Mike Young, director of resource assessments in the NSW Department of Planning and Environment, said in a statement his department "assesses all applications on their merits under planning legislation and clear NSW government policies and guidelines".

"The department will be consulting broadly on this application, including holding public information sessions in the local area during the exhibition period," Mr Young said.

Anthony Roberts, the new Planning Minister in Premier Gladys Berejiklian's new government, said his previous role as resources minister would not mean he would rubber-stamp approval for the project.

"[T]his is conditional on it receiving all the necessary approvals under the state's rigorous planning assessment framework," Mr Roberts said. "Quite simply, if this or any project doesn't pass through this process, then it does not proceed."

Mr Roberts said that as resources minister he had played the role of "regulator of the resources sector, not its advocate", a stance Mr Buckingham contested.

"As resources minister, Anthony Roberts was rabidly pro-gas, but now that he is planning minister he must ensure that the environmental and social impacts of the project are properly valued," Mr Buckingham said.

Adam Searle, Labor's energy spokesman, said the Opposition had made it clear prior to the 2015 election it was opposed to the Narrabri project and "would never grant a production licence" for it.

"Labor's position on CSG is clear - we want an immediate statewide moratorium that is not lifted unless the industry is proven to be safe," Mr Searle said.

'Tragic history'

Naomi Hodgson, campaign manager at the Wilderness Society, said concerns about the impact of drilling as many as 1000 coal seam gas wells as originally planned had been fanned by a "long tragic history of failure".

Ms Hodgson said there had been "at least 20 toxic coal seam gas waste water spills, including the contamination of an aquifer with uranium and other toxic heavy metals".

"Those spills came from just 20 wells and Santos now wants approval to drill hundreds of CSG wells through the recharge aquifers of the Great Artesian Basin, an essential water source for outback Australia," she said.

Santos, though, said its EIS "includes extensive studies and modelling on the environment in the project area, including on water, flora, fauna, soil, noise, air quality and cultural heritage".

"Santos has drawn upon more than 13,000 hours of on-ground environmental surveys, carried out by environmental scientists," the company said in its statement.

Mr Roberts said the EIS of the project would soon be placed on public exhibition for 60 days.