The Application of ASR to Create a Win-Win for the Coal Bed Methane Industry in Australia

Santos and its partners Petronas and Total, are developing a Coal Bed Methane to Liquid Natural Gas project in Queensland, Australia. Over the next 4 years, Santos will commence the development of a CBM wellfiled comprising around 2600 wells, producing up to 600 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.  The LNG plant, located at the coast of Queensland, 430 km away from the wellfield will liquify around 3 million tonnes of LNG per year for export overseas by LNG tanker ships. The CSG wellfield is spread over a north-south distance of over 200 km (125 miles) and at peak prpduction will produce up to 60 million l/day (15 million US gallons/day). The Santos project is however, only one of four such projects proposed for this area.

A regional centre that will support the emerging industry is the Town of Roma, which depends entirely on groundwater for its town water supply.  Santos will supply upwards of 10 million litres per day (2.5 million US gallons) of desalinated CBM produced water via Managed Aquifer Recharge to the town water supply aquifer.  This project will recharge the town water supply aquifer while also providing an affordable destination for the disposal of the produced water.  Santos is working through a multi-stage investigation program including a 14 -step water quality risk assessment process developed between regulators and groundwater experts across the states of Australia. The project is a win-win for Santos, the community, and the Great Artesian Basin - a large aquifer system that underlies this area and one of the most important water resources in Australia.