Acting responsibly
The growth of our operations relies heavily on implementing sustainable environmental practices and initiatives.
We're committed to continually refining and improving our procedures.
We do the right thing and make things right wherever we can by:
- Working with landowners to avoid sensitive areas and cause minimal disruption to the existing environment and land use.
- Designing infrastructure to blend with the landscape.
- Rehabilitating land throughout our operations and at the completion of our activities.
- Using materials and energy as efficiently as possible.
Leading the way
Our innovative water management initiatives are industry leading.
In 2007, the project’s joint venture partner Origin invested $20 million in a state-of-the-art reverse osmosis water treatment plant at Spring Gully, which was the first of its kind in Australia. It uses cutting edge water management and treatment technology to purify and desalinate up to 12 million litres of water per day.
A second and larger reverse osmosis plant has been installed at our Talinga gas field, with a potential future capacity to treat up to 40 million litres of water per day.
At Spring Gully, we are using treated water to irrigate a fully renewable crop of Pongamia trees, which could be the basis for several new and sustainable industries for Queensland in the future. The Pongamia tree was chosen because of its ability to be fully utilised and recycled, down to the last leaf. Its potential uses include creation of biofuel, protein meal for stock feed, electricity generation from its waste streams and as a plant fertiliser.
Read how we're using water to irrigate local crops
Australia Pacific LNG is investigating other possible uses for this treated water, including:
- Irrigating agricultural crops
- Urban and industrial uses
- Discharging treated water surpluses into local river systems
- Reintroducing the water to suitable underground aquifers (injection)
We routinely test water quality and water levels in our water storage facilities. The results of these tests are submitted to Queensland's Department of Mines and Energy.
You can read our water quality test reports
Protecting Australia's heritage
Preserving and protecting Australia’s Indigenous and European heritage is something we feel very strongly about. So before any project starts, we work hand-in-hand with traditional owners, local communities, historical societies and local landowners to identify areas of national and local significance. This is to ensure that our activities allow for the protection and preservation of areas or items of high significance to the community and region in general.
We've made a range of social and environmental commitments across each component of the Project.
You can read about Our Commitments to the environment.
Assured scientific research - GISERA
Australia Pacific LNG and CSIRO are founding members of a research alliance called GISERA. GISERA will deliver constructive, objective and publicly available research into the socio-economic and environmental impacts of the natural gas industry.
Initially, GISERA will explore issues in Queensland related to five topics:
- groundwater and surface water
- biodiversity
- land management
- the marine environment
- socio-economic impacts.