The Narrabri Gas Project is about providing much-needed energy to NSW.
The project could supply up to half of NSW natural gas needs. This is the natural gas that heats and powers more than 1 million family homes in NSW and fuels 34,000 businesses and industries that supply essential goods and employ hundreds of thousands of workers.
The AWU warned that more than 200,000 jobs would be at risk without a safe and secure gas supply. Developing the Narrabri Gas Project will help maintain these jobs.
The project will create up to 1200 jobs during construction and 200 ongoing jobs. It will deliver significant opportunities and benefits to the local Narrabri area and north west NSW.
The Narrabri Gas Project will not take water from the Great Artesian Basin and it will not affect the recharge of the GAB.
The part of the Pilliga in which our Narrabri Gas Project is located, was set aside by the NSW Government for forestry and extractive industries following a thorough ecological assessment. Our project area is largely dry scrub land in the State Forest and is outside the sections of the Pilliga protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act. Government mapping found our project area does not include Strategic Agricultural Land and where we do seek to work on private land, we will only do so with landholder consent.
Our operations will be located on about 1000 hectares – far less than 1% of the Pilliga – and from that relatively small area we can provide up to half of NSW’s natural gas needs.
Santos adheres to very strict environmental standards. We are finalising a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement for the project, which will explain in detail how we will manage any impact from our work.
The industry itself is well understood and highly regulated by the Government and regulatory authorities. The Chief Scientist, Professor Mary O’Kane conducted an eighteen month review of the coal seam gas industry and concluded that:
- The industry carries no more risk than any other extractive industry;
- CSG extraction and related technologies are mature and that Australia is well equipped to manage their application; and
- With appropriate safeguards and controls, natural gas from coal seams can be safely extracted.
The project could deliver more than $1.6 billion in royalties fund infrastructure and service to NSW, while delivering a safe, secure and affordable source of energy for families and businesses.
Peter Mitchley, General Manager – Santos Energy NSW
Click here to download the statement