While we know (from Annual Report and Half Yearly Report) that progress is being made re: Abbot Point LNG facility, it is encouraging to note that this project is being progressed (see the SMH and Guardian articles published on 10 April, 2014
SMH article:
Date April 10, 2014 - 12:23PM
Peter Hannam
Environment Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald
The Great Barrier Reef.
A huge liquefied natural gas export terminal is being planned for Abbot Point on the Queensland coast, coming just months after the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority approved plans to dump 3 million tonnes of dredge spoil in the sensitive region as part of coal export expansion.
Hong Kong-based Energy World Corporation has submitted plans to pipe gas 1000 kilometres from the Cooper Basin to Abbot Point, and then export as much as 2 million tonnes of LNG per year to Asia, according to documents posted on the federal environment ministry's website.
The so-called CAPLNG facility would require dredging as at least 500,000 cubic metres of material and dump it on land. The Australian Marine Conservation Society estimates the dredging would amount to about 800,000 tonnes.
“This is out of the blue,” said Felicity Wishart, a campaign director for the society. “The dredging itself is very damaging to the marine environment,” she said, adding that shifting it on land may also impact local wetlands or other regions where it is dumped.
The park authority's approval in February of the coal terminal expansion plan for Abbot Point raised concerns about the protection of the Great Barrier Reef. The 3 million tonnes dredge spoil will be dumped within the marine park, while the leap in coal shipments – assuming the mines planned for the Galilee Basin proceed – will increase shipping traffic along the reef.
An LNG facility would now bring even larger ships into the area, Ms Wishart said. “It's very concerning. The government is not sending the right signals - the community wants a better outcome for the reef,” she said.
Fairfax has sought comment from Environment Minister Greg Hunt.
The Energy World proposal is currently listed as a “Referral detail” under the commonwealth's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. A referral is needed if a project is likely to have a significant impact including on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, or World Heritage Properties – both of which apply for CAPLNG.
A meeting of the World Heritage Committee overseeing such sites is scheduled for Doha, Qatar, in June. The standing of the Great Barrier Reef may officially be placed on the “in danger" list, although a formal decision may not be made until 2015, Ms Wishart said.
Guardian article: Abbot Point gas project could dredge further half a million cubic metres Oliver Milman theguardian.com, Thursday 10 April 2014 14.31 AEST Proposed liquefied natural gas terminal beside Great Barrier Reef follows approval to dredge 3m cubic metres of seabed A proposed gas project beside the Great Barrier Reef could involve dredging a further half a million cubic metres of seabed at Abbot Point – a port where expansion already faces bitter opposition from environmentalists. The Cooper to Abbot Point Liquefied Natural Gas Project, which has been submitted to the government for environmental assessment, may require dredging to clear the way for ships to export the resource. Energy World Corporation (EWC), the company behind the plan, wants to build a 1,000km pipeline from south-west Queensland to transport the gas to Abbot Point, near Bowen. The government has already approved the dredging of 3m cubic metres of seabed at Abbot Point to allow its expansion for coal exports. The excavated spoil will be dumped within the Great Barrier Reef marine park – a decision which has enraged conservationists. The EWC proposal states that any dredged seabed from its proposal would be “disposed onshore”. It points out in its submission that it has ruled out a floating platform for the project due to its potential impact on the reef. The project’s proposal notes that there are 24 nationally threatened species in the area earmarked for the gas plant, while 25 threatened species have been found in the pipeline development area. These species include the loggerhead turtle, whale shark and northern quoll. One critically endangered species – the bare-rumped sheathtail bat – may also occur within the development area. “Throughout the design and planning of the project, priority was placed on assuring all elements are implemented in a manner that avoids, reduces and mitigates any potential impact to environmentally significant features,” EWC’s document says. It will prepare a full environmental impact statement. But this has failed to mollify environmentalists, who argue that the very action of dredging near the reef has a negative impact on marine creatures in the world heritage-listed ecosystem. “We are absolutely concerned about the scale of planned dredging,” said Felicity Wishart, campaigner at the Australian Marine Conservation Society. “We know sea grasses are already in incredibly poor shape at the moment and this would be yet more dredging for this food source to cope with. “There will also be an increase in shipping, which poses a risk to the reef and potential strikes to animals such as turtles and dugongs, and increased noise for whales to deal with. “It’s indicative of the Queensland and Australian governments still sending signals to industry that the reef is open for development. When are they going to say enough is enough?” The World Heritage Committee will decide in June whether to place the reef “in danger”, following warnings by the UN body over the level of development alongside the ecosystem. The Queensland government has pledged to keep port development to existing sites, with the federal government stressing that dredging will be tightly regulated and have a limited, temporary impact.
EWC Price at posting:
29.0¢ Sentiment: ST Buy Disclosure: Held
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