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View Full Version : Qld continues its UCG Vendetta


Sparty
07-04-2011, 01:57 AM
Sorry for the subject line but Qld looks as though it is continuing its vendetta against underground coal gasification with it resumption of action against Cougar Energy.

According to today's http://www.energynewsbulletin.net/storyview.asp?storyid=2396717&sectionsource=s0

Snippet:
Cougar's Kingaroy UCG trial plant was shut by DERM after water quality tests detected benzene and toluene in groundwater monitoring bores close to the plant.

Despite subsequent tests returning either no sign of benzene and toluene or trace amounts that did not present any danger to local landholder water supplies, the Queensland government announced it would shut down the site because the company could not demonstrate it could restart operations without an ?unacceptable" risk of causing environmental harm.

I may just being cynical but having watched the full Gaslands video where farmers have been driven off their land by thousands of CSM wells polluting their water and deadly, cancer causing, fumes enveloping their houses..... And the political storm that threatens Qld's multi-billion dollar Coal Seam Methane adventure with farmers blocking access, couldn't it be almost possible that the Qld Govt is looking for another issue to distract the public from the awful mess they have gotten themselves into when they chose CSM over UCG?

By the way if you haven't watched the full Gaslands video it might be useful to do so before further investing into the CSM sector.

The image below shows what happens to CSM land. Note the white wells and the pipelines joining them... scary if you are a crop or livestock farmer....
http://oi52.tinypic.com/2i8fwhy.jpg (http://catastrophist.wordpress.com/2010/07/04/watch-documentary-gasland-online/)


I must admit that having made quite a bit of money over the preceding years when QGC and AOE etc got going and then riding the "bull" but I had no idea of how awful the prospects for the land and ground water were.

I did have a good look at UCG and around 18/12 ago switched out of CSM... some of the money went into UCG as it has a micro-footprint compared with CSM uses 95% of the energy contained in the coal (CSM uses less than< 5%) and doesn't require fraccing etc....

www.ucg-gtl.com (http://www.ucg-gtl.com) the safer alternative!

Sparty
07-10-2011, 02:12 AM
http://www.southburnett.biz/pdfs/protestletter4.pdf

The link above doesn't mention the possibility that I've hinted at in the heading... but the article does give a very well researched and easy to read analysis of what the Bligh Govt. could and should have done a whole lot better.