Working with farmers
The amount of land used by a CSG wellhead is small, about half the size of a netball court.
And in order to seek agreement to access or locate our facilities on a property we carry out extensive consultation with farmers and landowners. To date we have entered into over 600 compensation agreements.
For more information about working with farmers, see the sections below.
Who owns the gas?
Under Australian and Queensland law, minerals and resource property rights, including CSG, are held by the State not by landowners.
Companies such as Origin bid for development rights and when producing resources pay royalties to the Government. These royalties improve the economic wealth of the State and living standards of the community as a whole. Graziers, farmers and other landowners receive compensation from the resource developer for any loss of land or any other impacts on their operations.
CSG and farmers can work together
Australian Pacific LNG works closely with landowners, graziers and farmers. All activities are undertaken by agreement with the farmer.
We currently have in place over 600 active compensation agreements with landowners.
Farmers are paid compensation
The Queensland Government requires CSG operators to pay fair and reasonable compensation to landowners.
Under the Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004, CSG operators have specific notification obligations and are required to abide by the Queensland Government’s Land Access Code in gaining access to and carrying out operations on any property.
The gas wells have limited impact on the land
A CSG well, when in operation covers a fenced area that is typically half the size of a netball court.
During the construction phase, a larger area is cleared to provide access for drilling rigs and other equipment.
Of the 335,000 hectares of good quality agricultural land in the Australia Pacific LNG Project area (as defined by the Queensland Government) only 7% (23,726 hectares) is expected to be disturbed during construction. Due to progressive rehabilitation of disturbed areas, it is estimated only 1.3% (4,319 hectares) will be removed from production for the life of the Project.
At the end of its economic life a CSG well is decommissioned, the well plugged with cement, surface equipment removed and the remaining lease area is rehabilitated.
What about the rest of the community?
The Australia Pacific LNG Project researches and monitors community impacts and has action plans in place to address impacts and concerns. These address for example: housing availability and cost, infrastructure development, indigenous issues, training and skills development and health and safety.
Origin has been producing CSG safely in Queensland for 15 years with no material adverse impacts on people’s health or the local environment.