Queensland Government's Approvals Process for Curtis Island LNG Projects Called into Question

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources Australia (Perth, Australia)--The government approvals process that was completed by the three large-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects under way on Gladstone's Curtis Island has been called into question, with reports that public servants were given impossible deadlines in order to rush through the approvals for Queensland's huge coal seam gas industry.

Recent reports have revealed that as the application for the $18.6 billion (AUD $18 billion) Santos GLNG project was still being assessed in May 2010, approvals staff were hit with demands from the government to commence the approvals process for the $16.5 billion (AUD $16 billion) Queensland Curtis LNG project, shortly after the Australian Pacific LNG project. All three projects were approved by the end of 2010.

The approvals process now may be headed to the Crime and Misconduct Commission after Premier Campbell Newman backed calls for an inquiry.

Environmental group Save the Reef says political pressure and staff cutbacks have increased workloads on the public service under the current Queensland government, and it was concerned the approvals process for a fourth LNG plant proposed for Curtis Island by Arrow would be rushed.

Save the Reef spokeswoman Libby Connors said it was disturbing to note a government spokesperson was reported as saying that the industry was operating "with no evidence of significant environmental damage or adverse outcomes."

"We think an investigation of cumulative impacts on Gladstone Harbour and the regulation of dredging and other construction impacts from the LNG plants is urgently needed," Connors said. "At the moment, a fourth LNG plant is not environmentally sustainable.

"It is pretty clear that the rushed approvals process did not allow the department to adequately assess all effects, and now our world wonder, our tourism icon, the Great Barrier Reef, and the $6 billion dollars it brings in every year is in danger."

All of these projects aim to source coal seam gas, also known as coal bed methane, from central Queensland, process it into LNG and export it to customers in Asia, predominantly Japan and South Korea.

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