PH interviewed on 730 report last night

http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2017/s4636761.htm

Good on the ABC for bringing this back up, although it brings back bad memories. Makes me mad. MT saying Victoria was the worst state. but how about NSW? I'm channeling peekaye here, but a company that spends 100m+ on exploration proving the largest gas reserves in the state, has the landowners permission, all the environmental approvals in place, only for the NSW government to do dodgy stuff like referring to ICAC and suspending the licence before the courts overturned that decision. Then the government expropriates the acreage for a tiny sum of $25m.  This is why we are now facing the reality of gas shortages in the state and country.




PETER HENDERSON, FORMER CEO, METGASCO: We lost millions of dollars in terms of having to break the contracts; and it also meant our share price halved. It did enormous damage to us.

ANDREW PROBYN: Peter Henderson is the former CEO of Metgasco, whose sorry story in north-east New South Wales serves as a cautionary tale for the onshore gas industry dealing with state governments.

PETER HENDERSON: We went through and got all the approvals, all the safety, all the environmental approvals. We had a very, very willing landholder who wanted us to drill multiple wells on his property.

ANDREW PROBYN: Metgasco's project at Bentley - a conventional drill, not coal seam gas - would have serviced domestic customers.

(Footage of protesters)

PROTESTERS (chanting): CSG, no way!

ANDREW PROBYN: It became the focus of the fierce Lock the Gate campaign. Protesters poured into the area and, feeling the heat, the NSW Government intervened.

PETER HENDERSON: Three days before the drilling rig arrived, I opened my email about 9 o'clock and found there was a letter from the Government suspending our drilling approval.

DREW HUTTON, PRESIDENT, LOCK THE GATE ALLIANCE: We are unstoppable!

ANDREW PROBYN: The anti-gas sentiment was surging, attracting condemnation from many small voices - and one very big one.

(Footage of Alan Jones addressing the National Press Club, October 2011)

ALAN JONES, BROADCASTER (2011): Our politicians are turning some of our best land into a quarry and a worthless lunar moonscape.

PETER HENDERSON: As soon as they started trying to appease the anti-gas, anti-business, anti-development lobbyists and the shock jocks, we had a very tough job on our hands.

ANDREW PROBYN: Metgasco was even referred to the NSW Corruption Watchdog by the State Energy Minister.

PETER HENDERSON: That referral was dismissed by ICAC in two weeks, which must be a world record for them. And it clearly shows there was no substance.

ANDREW PROBYN: But the pressure worked and Metgasco agreed to walk away from the gas well - albeit with $25 million compensation.

This case highlights how state governments have contributed to the current crisis. Metgasco thought it had done everything by the book, but the NSW Government went wobbly in the face of a fierce protest, an eloquent opinion-maker and political pressure points.