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Santos makes progress on Narrabri CBM approvals
PROJECTS & COMPANIES
THE New South Wales State government has referred Santos’ Narrabri coal-bed methane (CBM) project to the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) for review, the company announced on March 11.
Santos said the referral was a “key mile- stone” in the independent approvals pro- cess. The NSW Department of Planning must complete and deliver its assessment of the project to the IPC for consideration. The NSW Energy Minister has requested that the IPC hold public hearings and reach a decision on the Narrabri project within 12 weeks of receiving the assessment.
Santos managing director and CEO Kevin Gallagher said the IPC’s decision on Narrabri’s future would guide his company’s investment decisions with regard to new gas projects to sup- ply the East Coast gas market.
The Narrabri project is caught at a political crossroads, with critics arguing that the devel- opment poses too many environmental risks even as the federal and NSW governments agree that the state must produce more gas for the local market.
In February, an NSW legislative council inquiry found that the state government had failed to implement in full 14 of the Chief Sci- entist’s 16 recommendations on regulating CBM extraction. The findings may garner support for a state-wide moratorium on CBM development that independent MP Justin Field has said he intends to submit to Parlia- ment this month.
NSW has, however, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Australian government that will see the state receive fed- eral funding for energy infrastructure projects in return for boosting gas production for the domestic market by 70 petajoules (1.82bn cubic metres) per year. Santos has said Nar- rabri could produce 70 PJ per year, all of which would be fully committed to domestic buyers.
Commenting on the project’s referral to the IPC, Gallagher said: “We have applied the best science to the environmental impact statement for Narrabri. We are confident that it will stand on its merits and that the project could be safely and sustainably developed to protect water resources and the environment.”
Santos noted that NSW imports more than 95% of its gas from other states, putting its busi- nesses at a cost disadvantage compared to enter- prises in other states.
Gallagher said: “If we can develop Narrabri gas, it will be the most competitively priced gas for NSW customers, and it will always be cheaper than LNG imports, especially when gas prices are high in Asia. Ours is a cyclical business and we must not lose sight of the fact that the current low price and market conditions are not perma- nent. Demand, and with it, prices, will ultimately recover, and therefore we must continue to focus on how and when we need to develop future gas sources at the lowest possible cost of supply to increase competition.”v
Image: Santos
Week 10 12•March•2020
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