Buru Energy’s planned ‘tight gas’ testing program in the remote Canning Basin will not require formal environmental assessment after minister Albert Jacob upheld the Environmental Protection Authority’s advice.
Buru plans to test for gas flows using hydraulic fracture stimulation (‘fraccing’) of four existing wells, located at Yulleroo 80 kilometres east of Broome and Valhalla 320km east of Broome.
The fraccing process, which involves pumping water, sand and certain chemicals below the surface to stimulate gas flows, is focused on the Laurel tight gas formation, which is more than 2,000 metres deep.
Buru plans to spend $54 million on the Laurel testing program, according to an announcement released last year.
Of this total, $20 million will be contributed by alumina producer Alcoa, which is helping to fund the search for new gas supplies in WA.
The EPA concluded in January that the Laurel testing program did not need a formal assessment and this attracted 48 appeals.
The appeals raised concern about the potential cumulative impact of Buru’s program in tandem with other exploration programs and potential future gas production in the region.
They also raised concern about the effect on groundwater, water consumption, air quality and biodiversity.
In his decision, the Minister repeated the EPA’s conclusion that Buru’s “small scale, limited duration ‘proof of concept’ exploration proposal is unlikely to have a significant effect on the environment”.
The proposal is subject to further evaluation by the Department of Water and the Department of Mines and Petroleum, which is assessing the environment and operational plans submitted by Buru for the program.
Buru said it has also undertaken an extensive community engagement program, which will be ongoing.
