MAKE no mistake, if a gas field is approved over the Surf Coast Shire it will industrialise the region.
The economics of unconventional gas are pretty simple; once approval for a commercial gas field is granted, the company needs to extract as much gas as possible to maximise its return on investment.
That typically means thousands, potentially tens of thousands of wells, as we see with coal seam gas in Queensland or shale and tight gas fields in the United States.
Every one of those wells is connected with access roads and pipelines, interspersed with compressor stations, holding ponds for toxic water and other heavy industrial infrastructure. Will tourists to the region really want to visit a gas field?
Related documents
Between the Lines Newsletter
The biggest stories and the best analysis from the team at the Australia Institute, delivered to your inbox every fortnight.
You might also like
How to put a roof over the heads of thousands of Australians sleeping rough, couch surfing or living in their cars
With the number of Australian households at risk of homelessness surging towards a million, it’s estimated that governments will need to build 47,000 social and affordable homes each year – at a staggering cost of $18 billion annually.
The great gas rip off: how the government can stop us all getting burned
The Albanese government could soon intervene to start fixing one of the biggest ongoing public policy fiascos in this country’s history: Australia’s rampant, uncontrolled gas export industry.
Canada, don’t make the same mistake with LNG that Australia did
For decades, the populous eastern states of Australia had an abundant supply of low-cost gas.