Anthony Barich Friday, 27 February 2015 BURU Energy has welcomed the Broome Shire Council’s support for the company’s Canning Basin gas exploration program after a motion to declare the shire “frac free” was defeated at a meeting last night.
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Sampling oil from Ungani, courtesy Buru Energy
“The Broome community and its shire representatives are among the many important stakeholder groups involved in our operations in the Canning Basin,” Buru executive chairman Eric Streitberg said.“We believe it is important that these matters are openly debated by our community leadership and are pleased with the support the shire has shown for responsible development in the Canning Basin by not supporting the ‘anti-fraccing’ motion.“Buru is committed to using proven and safe technology to verify the viability of its gas projects. Our technology is used on a global scale and there have been four independent reviews of our exploratory natural gas program.“These reviews have involved six universities and a range of appropriate independent technical experts. All of these reviews have shown our proposed program poses a very low risk to the environment.“This factual, scientific, and independent approach is in stark contrast to the misinformation and wild exaggerations put out by the opponents of the petroleum industry.”Streitberg said Buru’s gas project could provide extensive benefits to the local community as well as the overall WA community, including local jobs and security of domestic gas supply for Western Australians. It is the latest in an ongoing saga of dramas for the company, which had to modify its Yullaroo 2 wellhead configuration after the Canning Basin site was vandalised by activists and its Perth office was occupied by up to 10 anti-fraccing protestors in October.The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association commended the Broome Shire Council for “rejecting an anti-gas declaration that could have put local jobs and investment at risk”.APPEA chief operating officer (western region) Stedman Ellis said councillors were correct to note that responsibility for approving resource projects rests with the state government.“While local government may not be able to block projects, it can send a strong message that investment is unwelcome,” Ellis said.“The Broome Shire Council has sensibly chosen to embrace economic development for the region by rejecting the anti-gas scare campaign.”He said there was no basis for calls to ban onshore gas operations from the Kimberley.“On the same day activists were urging Broome to reject hydraulic fracturing, an independent scientific review for the Northern Territory government declared the process to be safe when properly regulated,” he said.“The Hawke Inquiry considered all of the available science and reviewed hundreds of submissions before declaring there was absolutely no justification for moratoriums.”[/table]
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