How is Onshore Gas Development Benefitting Rural Queensland?

Abstract

To what extent has $60 billion in onshore gas development benefitted communities in Queensland, Australia's Surat Basin? Providing local benefits from extraction of an export commodity affects an industry's social license to operate. Evidence on the long-term benefits of boom-bust-and-recovery cycles from onshore oil and gas development in areas of the western US is equivocal. In light of aspirations for the traditionally agricultural towns of southern Queensland, the extent of such benefits and the extent of impacts have been assessed by analysing historical trends in key indicators – such as population, housing costs, employment, and crime rates. The assessment has included extensive interviews of residents, business owners, farmers, and others who have experienced the opportunities and impacts. The research suggests a distribution of the industry's cumulative impacts, including benefits to some and stresses to others. Simultaneously, there are also impacts from periods of drought and flood and relatively recent amalgamation of local governments. Research has revealed lingering distrust from transgressions and omissions during the exploration and subsequent, relatively rapid, construction phase, though improvements in company practices have been reported. Concerns persist among some about co-existence between farming operations and onshore gas construction, operation, and maintenance. With the construction phase abating and the numbers of fly-in/fly-out workers declining, there are still over a thousand wells per year to be drilled during the next 20–30 years in a region of roughly 40,000 square kilometres and 40,000 inhabitants. Questions remain about the extent to which the region – which also exports coal, wheat, and beef - will ride a roller coaster as international gas prices fluctuate and geology reveals how much of the natural gas is present. To what extent can this development help the region achieve its aspirations?

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90217 © 2015 International Conference & Exhibition, Melbourne, Australia, September 13-16, 2015