Queensland Gas plans to have about 6000 wells running when fully operational in 2020 and about 60 field processing centres where the gas is compressed.
Fracking is the process of injecting materials into rock fractures to extract extra gas more efficiently.
Coal seam gas is extracted by pumping out water from a coal seam which lowers the pressure and allows the gas to escape. The Queensland Gas company’s water manager Alan Davie says no-one knows exactly what is going to happen with the Great Artesian Basin.
Most farmers get their bore water from less than 150 metres below the surface. The extraction of water for coal seam gas is below 300 metres. Queensland Gas Company (QGC) proposes to put the waste water through a desalination plant and then give it to the state government in return for the state government building the pipes to carry the water away.
The driver of Australia’s coal seam gas industry is the argument that gas is cheaper than coal and emits about 50% less greenhouse gases than coal.
Drew Hutton points to recent work in the US which shows gas might not be quite as greenhouse-friendly as it appears and may only emit 25% less greenhouse gases than coal. When you chuck in problems with the Great Artesian Basin waste water and leakage of gas you have to question if this whole industry is worth it.