The coal seam gas rush

Updated June 28, 2012 07:27:18

Produced by ABC Radio Multiplatform & Content Development, and presented by ABC News Online.

This data journalism site was compiled in April 2012 and all information contained here is current as of that date. For ongoing coal seam gas stories since then, go here.

Coal seam gas has emerged as a major industry in Australia in little more than a decade.

The scale and speed of its growth has been nothing short of astonishing: billions of dollars have poured into regional areas; new jobs have been created; state and national coffers have swelled; export contracts have been signed and sealed; massive liquefied natural gas facilities have been approved for construction at regional ports.

Farmers fear they are losing control of their land. Miners and some politicians say coal seam gas offers a much greener energy choice. Environmentalists and other politicians have cast doubt on those claims.

The ABC's data journalism project has pulled together information from dozens of sources to provide an insight into the promise and the dangers inherent in the coal seam gas rush.

Did you know:

• it is estimated there will be 40,000 coal seam gas wells in Australia
• conservative estimates suggest coal seam gas wells could draw 300 gigalitres of water from the ground each year?
• the industry could produce as much greenhouse gas as all the cars on the road in Australia?
• modelling suggests the industry could produce 31 million tonnes of waste salt over the next 30 years?

Coal seam gas and you

The ABC has produced the most comprehensive map of Australia's coal seam gas activities made so far.

Use the search tool to find gas wells in places of interest to you, and zoom in on Queensland and New South Wales to explore the full extent of coal seam gas mining in the Great Artesian Basin.

Click on individual wells to see their status, depth, the name of the company that owns the well, and exact geographical coordinates.

Click on the 'leases' button to see where coal seam gas companies have the right to look for more gas.

(Note: Data collected and provided by government authorities does not disambiguate coal seam gas wells from conventional gas wells and some other activities. There is no data set from government or industry that provides that level of detail. Therefore, some of the wells shown on this map may be conventional gas wells, core holes, stratigraphic or chip holes. The map reflects the most current and accurate data on coal seam gas activity that was available from government agencies at the time of publication.)

• Map sources ¹

How fast will CSG keep growing?

Over the next 20 years coal seam gas operations are expected to continue expanding.

Up to 40,000 wells are projected for Queensland.

• Infographic sources ²

How much water will the CSG industry use?

Australia's Great Artesian Basin and its underground aquifers are a vital source of water; farmers and other bore users are given allocations for their use.

By 2014, the Commonwealth will have spent nearly $150 million under the Great Artesian Basin Sustainability Initiative, capping bores and fixing pipes to conserve water.

The coal seam gas industry is entitled to remove massive amounts of water from groundwater systems.

The Queensland Government says that if CSG mining causes groundwater levels to drop below specified "trigger" points then companies must "make good" to affected water users. The trigger points are:

• a five-metre drop in bore-water levels for sandstone and fractured rock aquifers;
• a two-metre drop in bore-water levels for alluvial aquifers; and
• a 20-centimetre drop in the water table surrounding springs.

While the Queensland Government has set out the make-good arrangements, there is concern over how these will actually work in practice.

For instance, Rabobank wants more certainty on the question of how CSG will pay for future reparations because some of the impacts may not be evident for decades. The agri-bank wants CSG companies to take out insurance for this.

The Queensland Farmers Federation has sought more information on how the burden of proof will be established and on making good cumulative impacts.

Others such as the Basin Sustainability Alliance want to know how make-good will be enforced.

In addition to these provisions, the forthcoming Murray Basin Plan will set limits on groundwater extraction, including by the CSG industry. The states must enact these limits by 2019.

There is a fierce debate about the amount of water the coal seam gas industry will extract from underground, and what impact it may have on the sustainability of the Great Artesian Basin.

The industry suggests it will pull out somewhere between 126 gigalitres and 280 gigalitres a year, while the National Water Commission puts the figure above 300 gigalitres a year. Others, including the Water Group advising the Federal Government, suggest it is higher still.

The infographic below compares the various published figures on water extraction by the coal seam gas industry.

To place this into perspective, those estimates have been compared to current household use and how much water is currently being extracted from the Great Artesian Basin.

• Infographic sources ³

What's in all that water?

Water is pulled out of the ground as part of the coal seam gas mining process, because the gas - methane - is in the coal seam and held there at great pressure by water and other sediment layers.

To release the gas, the water needs to be pumped out of the coal seam and up to the surface in a process known as 'dewatering'.

The water that is pumped from the ground as part of the coal seam gas extraction process is very salty and contains a range of naturally present chemicals. It may also include heavy metals and radionuclides.

Once at the surface, the water is stored in huge ponds, treated with other chemicals and then put through desalination plants on the gas field.

This final process removes the salt, which is then stored in salt brine ponds for later disposal.

If the coal seam gas company treats the water to a standard where it can be used "beneficially" then that water is no longer considered "waste water".

How much salt are we talking?

Estimating how much salt will be produced depends how much water is extracted.

If you take the mid-scale figure provided by the coal seam gas industry of approximately 200 gigalitres of water being extracted each year, and couple that with information about how salty coal seam gas water is, you arrive at 21 million tonnes of waste salt being produced over the next 30 years.

However, if you use the National Water Commission's estimates of 300 gigalitres of water each year, this suggests 31 million tonnes of salt will be produced over the same timeframe.

The amount of waste salt being produced is important because the coal seam gas industry has not yet come up with a solution of what to do with it all.

What chemicals are involved?

Treatment of coal seam gas water is designed to remove unwanted contaminants.

However, some chemicals remain in treated CSG water.

They can include boron, silver, chlorine, copper, cadmium cyanide and zinc.

At the concentrations present in the water being released, many of the chemicals would be toxic to aquatic organisms.

However, environmental water quality standards apply to water in the overall environment after the release, rather than specifically to the water that is being released.

CSG industry response

• ABC under fire over CSG website: Industry group APPEA says this website is not complete or objective.
• ABC responds to CSG industry complaint: Read the ABC's public response to APPEA's complaint.
• The ABC’s Audience and Consumer Affairs - which is independent from the Radio and News output divisions - has responded to APPEA’s second complaint. View the response.

Editor's notes

The following corrections have been made to this site:

• It incorrectly stated that 40,000 coal seam gas wells had been approved. In fact, the 40,000 figure is a government estimate based on information supplied by the industry. The language has been changed to reflect this.
• The fourth frame of this infographic explaining how the coal seam gas extraction process works incorrectly showed a drilling rig remaining on-site during a well's gas-production stage. The graphic was amended to show the drill head removed.
• The coal seam gas and water page previously reported that the intention of selling water to farmers at cheap prices was to "force" the farmers to build dams on their properties. That has been corrected to say the intention is to "encourage" farmers to build dams.
• The promise of coal seam gas page previously said two infographics - about the size of the CSG industry and carbon dioxide emissions - included projects from BG International. This was incorrect and the reference to BG International has been removed.
• The site homepage originally said the Queensland Government had not fully spelt out make-good arrangements for CSG companies. This has been changed to say that while the Queensland Government has set out the make-good arrangements, there is concern over how these will actually work in practice.
• At the time of publication, the homepage did not state that some of the wells shown on the main map at the top of the site may be conventional gas wells, core holes, stratigraphic or chip holes, because the data available from governments does not disambiguate coal seam gas wells from conventional gas wells and some other activities. This note has been added above the map.
• An earlier version of this homepage incorrectly alleged that the Queensland Government ignored environmental safety guidelines when granting approval for CSG waste water discharges into the Condamine River. The story described the water as toxic and noted that discharge water included contaminants in excess of trigger points set out in the ANZECC environmental guidelines. Those guidelines are intended for monitoring of contaminants in the diluted river water, not in the treated discharge water. Testing of the Condamine River has not found contaminant levels above ANZECC guideline levels.

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Also in this series

Related links

• We Want CSG: Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration site about the benefits of CSG.
• Santos Water Portal: Explore the results from Santos's water monitoring programs.

• Lock The Gate: News and information from the alliance opposing CSG.

Sources

1. Coal seam gas map: The map of coal seam gas wells is current to 2011 and has been compiled using the most up-to-date information from the following publicly available state government databases: Queensland; New South Wales; South Australia; Western Australia; Tasmania. (View full data files)
2. Coal seam gas expansion chart: View full data files

3. Water use: Current annual water use by Queensland households (Source: ABS 4610.0 - Water Account, Australia, 2008-09); "On-shore co-produced water:extent and management" National Water Commission, Australian Government Sept 2011;" Projected water use by Santos, QGC and Origin Energy" cited Water Group Advice on EPBC Act Referrals, September 2010." Prepared by Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities for Minister Tony Burke. Tabled in the Australian Senate, 2010.) National Water Commission "Onshore co-produced water extend and management" Waterlines Report September 2011. View full data files

Credits

Radio Multiplatform & Content Development

Lead journalist: Wendy Carlisle

Executive producer: Mark Bannerman

Project manager: Fergus Pitt

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Developer: Jack Zhao

Data consultant: Maureen Henninger

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ABC News Online

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First posted November 24, 2011 06:34:26