A COONAWARRA wine industry leader has waved a number of red flags over the State Government’s plans to ramp up gas production in the South East.
A map of the new acreage releases show land on the northern and western boundaries of Coonawarra being opened up for potential petroleum drilling.
This also coincides with Beach Energy’s current drilling program at the Haselgrove-4 conventional well south of Penola.
But the government will standby its 10-year moratorium to block any fracture stimulated activities – known as fracking – in the South East.
Coonawarra Vignerons president Pete Balnaves expressed concerns about more “industrialised” gas mining activities potentially occurring at the back door of the world renowned wine district.
While both industries had “co-existed” in the district for many years, he said the Coonawarra wine industry was “playing on the international stage”.
“One of the lines we are able to use is our clean and green environmental image,” Mr Balnaves said.
“Any industrialisation that changes that perception is a concern for us.”
He also flagged concerns over the potential impact on the district valuable and precious water resource, including the possibility of contamination from petroleum drilling activities.
Mr Balnaves also claimed the gas industry should be treated on the same level playing field in terms of water use.
“The industry has taken the stance that we are concerned about gas mining activity in the region, particularly on the water resource,” Mr Balnaves told The Pennant.
Mr Balnaves particularly harboured concerns with drilling passing through both the confined and unconfined aquifer systems given the potential for contamination and leakage between the two systems.
He said the government had been trading and relying on the state’s “clean green image” for its export sector.
Bidding is now open for three exploration licences for the newly released blocks that sweep across most of the Lower South East.
The newly opened exploration areas stretch from south of Naracoorte to Port MacDonnell, cutting through some of the state’s most productive agricultural land.
“The Marshall Liberal Government is committed to the expansion of South Australia’s resources sector and the jobs and investment that will deliver for our state,” Mining and Energy Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan.
He said applicants were reminded of the 10-year moratorium on fracture stimulation operations in the Limestone Coast Region enacted by the South Australian Government late last year.
“However, it is business as usual for conventional petroleum operations in the region,” Mr van Holst Pellekaan said.
“The Marshall Government understands escalating world demand for gas and oil presents enormous potential for growth in the local resources sector and the role it plays in underpinning South Australia’s economic foundations.”
He said winning Otway Basin bidders would be selected on the basis of the total five-year work program bid.
The government has also opened five new exploration licences in the Cooper Basin.
Applicants must provide information on the adequacy of their financial resources and technical expertise to satisfactorily undertake the proposed work program and their ability to ensure overall regulatory compliance.
The successful bidder will be able to acquire seismic and drill conventional oil and gas wells, subject to the requisite approval processes under the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Act 2000.
The petroleum industry is also required to engage meaningfully with relevant landowners, stakeholders and the community during the life cycle of a project, including project planning and negotiating land access through to decommissioning.
Approval for an activity whether in the Cooper Basin or Otway Basin including geophysical surveys, drilling and subsequent potential production is a separate process to the work program bidding process.
Those activities are subject to a separate rigorous assessment and consultation processes.
The State Government has partnered with CSIRO’s Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance to carry out independent research within the Limestone Coast region.
The government says this aims to better inform community perceptions about gas exploration, development and production.
The bidding for both the Cooper and Otway basin close in November.
