Santos renews plans to explore Deputy PM's land

Coal seam gas miner Santos has renewed plans to explore a remote part of NSW where Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce owns nearly 1000 hectares of grazing land. 

Documents obtained under freedom of information laws show Santos has kept alive its drilling ambitions around Gwabegar, a community in the heart of the Pilliga Scrub, about 130 kilometres from its operating CSG plant at Narrabri. 

As revealed by Fairfax Media on Monday, Santos has submitted new plans with the NSW Government to explore for CSG in ‘‘PEL 1’’, its ‘‘petroleum exploration licence’’ area centred on the Liverpool Plains in Mr Joyce’s electorate of New England. 

Opposition to CSG is widespread in New England and Santos has said its focus remains around the less-fertile Pilliga.

Read Heath Aston’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Santos turns up gas over Joyce’s land.”

Distant past can determine today's behaviour

Frequently the distant past helps us determine how we should behave today.

Stygofauna, highly specialized organisms that have been around for millions of years, look likely to seriously disrupt Santos’ biggest coal seam gas project in the New South Wales Pilliga Forest.

Those concerned about the almost certain contamination of the area’s aquifers by hydraulic process used to access the natural gas will be celebrating the existence of the stygofauna.

The ABC reported today about the Pilliga project in it story headed: “Ancient stygofauna could halt Santos’ Pilliga coal seam gas project”.