Arrow Energy CEO Cecile Wake says future actions rather than words on a piece of paper will instill trust in landholders that the company is committed to coexisting on prime agricultural land.
The gas giant released a new landholder commitments document last Thursday after admitting faults in the correspondence to farmers when directional drilling on neighboring land.
The improvements to the planning process were put straight into action last week when landholders in the new Springvale area development were provided with greater transparency of plans including preliminary locations of all the surface infrastructure and proposed deviated wells.
Ms Wake said the new landholders commitments document encapsulated everything from entry notices to insurance, sharing LiDAR imagery and other data, and better area wide planning.
She explained that early processes meant they would previously engage with landowners who were willing to host gas on their property, but in trying to balance owner confidentially they had fallen short in notifying neighbouring landowners too.
"We genuinely didn't believe that formal entry notices were required and as soon as we became aware of the fact that they were, we proactively went out and notified all of the landowners who had any historically drilled deviated wells and really lent into trying to maximizing that transparently within area wide planning," she said.
"The fact that we have been so public in making these commitments and the fact that I've been prepared to put my name on the bottom of them is a reflection of how important it is to Arrow, as a company, and to me, personally, that we get this right and that we genuinely achieve coexistence where both industries can thrive together.
"We are making really good progress in reaching consensual mutually beneficially agreements with a very large number of landholders and as we come through the development of the project I hope our actions fully reinforce those commitments."
"Think of it as a business opportunity"
Ranges Bridge-based grower Ian Hayllor is the first to admit he too was once a septic of the coal seam gas industry but now believes it's made his farm more productive.
"When the industry first came into the area we knew very little about it and were very nervous about it," he said.
"But after meeting with gas company employees and some of their technical staff and community staff, I realised it was a very professional, well managed industry and the workers were just as passionate about their industry and doing the right thing as we are about ours."
Mr Hayllor is encouraging landholders in the Surat Basin to consider the business opportunity that could come from hosting a gas well on their property.
"Through the whole negotiation process not once did they say no and we didn't say no either; we worked through the process," he said.
"I view it like we project managed; they designed it to fit in with our tram lines and boundaries.
"If we can get people to view it as a business opportunity and work through the process like when you buy a farm and look at the budget. Do the same with gas and analyse the CCA agreements and where it might need to be tweaked for you."
By hosting several vertical and directional drill sites on his land, Mr Hayllor said he now had a drought-proof income allowing them to budget long-term and invest in things like grain storage and machinery.
"Just saying no and raising a lot of very unlikely scenarios or refusing to accept peer-reviewed science won't get you anywhere," he said.
"You've got to be open minded and I'm very comfortable in saying I'm a cotton and gas farmer. You've got to look at the big picture of what it means to our economy."
Opposition still visible
Springvale farmers who attended the area wide planning meeting had mixed responses.
Some still believe deviated drilling has not been adequately risk assessed and are not adequately covered under legislative framework.
For co-existence to be possible, a landowner said it must be a level the playing field and the unchecked self-assessment needed to stop.
"The only positive outcome was that this community got a very clear example of how they can expect their future engagements with Arrow to be handled," they said.
