SANTOS’S Narrabri coal seam gas project is vital to the energy security of the eastern seaboard, but is facing opposition which has taken on a “religious” zeal, the company says. 
 
James Baulderstone, vice president of Santos’s eastern Australia division, said while the community was largely supportive of the project, the company would never be able to convince entrenched opponents. “In a lot of ways it’s become a bit of a religion for some...

Landholders continue to frustrate Bandanna Energy’s bid for a mining lease for the $1.2 billion Springsure coal project, near Emerald. 
 
The company has also sought to restructure its agreements with the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal because of the delay. Bandanna said only six objections were received over Springsure Creek and it had received “constructive responses’’ from three and was trying to resolve all six in coming weeks. “Until th...

Queensland’s Coordinator-General has approved the proposed $16.5 billion Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail project north-west of Clermont, subject to an extensive set of environmental and social conditions. Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jeff Seeney said, should this mine proceed, it would play a vital role in opening up the resource-rich Galilee Basin. “This project has the potential to be the largest coal mine in Australia and one...

Source:  Brisbane Times It is designed to ensure agriculture and mining can co-exist. Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney calls it his "legacy". The Regional Planning Interests bill was passed into parliament on Thursday night, almost two years after it was first mooted by the government. The legislation maps out a new system of planning across regional Queensland.  Priority agricultural, priority living, strategic environmental and strategic cropping areas have bee...

Source:  The Australian QUEENSLAND'S booming gas sector, with $70 billion in projects being constructed, towers over NSW's struggling industry, drilling more than 22 times the number of gas wells and employing almost 100 per cent of the industry's workforce.  Figures to be released by the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association today indicate that natural gas development is underpinning Queensland's economy while the picture is more sta...