COMMUNITY sustainability is a priority for the Gasfields Commission Queensland as resource development looks toward the Cooper Basin, delegates at the Bush Councils convention in St George heard in early August.
Gasfields commissioner John Cotter said that although the resource industry had been a part of the agriculture scene since gold was discovered at Gympie in the 1860s, the speed and enormity of the coal seam gas expansion of recent years had caused major angst.
"The major reason for the angst has been a lack of understanding," he said.
"Coal seam gas affects 80 per cent of the regions in Queensland, and we're determined that there must be a benefit to local communities going forward."
Commissioner for science and research Steven Raine told the convention the rapid expansion had made "a climate ripe for fear".
He said the region of southern Queensland had been the most heavily studied in Australia, with 6700 wells drilled.
"As we look to new areas, we know the hydrogeology with a high degree of integrity."
Looking towards the potential users in the Cooper basin in the state's south-west, Mr Raines said there was very little possibility of any connection between existing water users and unconventional gas extraction.
He was supported by gas industry development commissioner Rick Wilkinson, who said no scientist would say there was zero possibility of a connection.
"Modelling and testing indicates isolation and protection," he said.
"A shale well is typically 2000 to 3000m deep, and most stock and domestic bores are 100 to 300m.
"There are typically hundreds of metres of rock separating the two."
Regarding the amount of water used by the industry in the fracking process, Mr Wilkinson said that in the US, a typical frack used 7 megalitres of water.
"People are now carrying more cattle than ever before, because of the capital improvements brought by the CSG industry.
"When you can see CSG at work, that's the truth seeking you've got to find.
"Drive up and down the main streets of Roma, Chinchilla or Miles - the lack of activist signs is the telling point."
Mr Cotter added that when the industry first ramped up, the question was how much wells would devalue the country they were on.
"In the past 12 months we've been seeing properties advertised for sale with the income they were making from gas."
Sally Cripps
Journalist
Journalist
