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Arrow withdraws plans for CSG wells on four farms

Grain Central January 29, 2025

Darling Downs farmer Doug Browne is one of four property owners who will no longer be impacted by CSG drilling after Arrow Energy withdrew its application. Photo: Lock the Gate

COAL seam gas company Arrow Energy has withdrawn plans to drill wells on four cropping properties in the Springvale region, north-west of Cecil Plains on the Darling Downs.

A total of six properties were set to be impacted by the project, which is still under assessment by the Queensland Government, but Arrow has confirmed that only two lots will be the site of deviated wells as part of a redesign process.

Arrow has also withdrawn another application lodged in September 2021 to drill 11 CSG wells at lots near Kupunn, a locality 15km south-west of Dalby.

However, the company has foreshadowed plans to lodge a new application regarding the project at some point this year.

According to the latest information provided to the Queensland Government, the lots referenced in this application are owned by Warakirri Asset Management and fall within its Myobie Aggregation.

Despite Arrow Energy maintaining a presence in the area, Springvale growers are hailing the decision as a major victory in their campaign against CSG drilling on prime farmland.

Springvale farmer Doug Browne, whose property is no longer affected by a planned CSG well, said he remains firmly opposed to mining on his land and in the district.

“I’ve farmed this land all my life,” Mr Browne said.

“It’s been in my family for generations.

“There was no way I was ever going to let Arrow Energy on to my land.”

The growers and advocacy group, Lock the Gate Alliance, are claiming this is the first time a gas company has withdrawn such an application in response to farmer opposition.

“We did it to help protect the groundwater that sustains this district,” Mr Browne said.

“And we did this to show farmers all over Australia that even a small group of people can stand up to giant gas companies.”

Two years ago, Mr Browne and three other farming families launched a joint campaign calling on the application to be refused.

They pointed to evidence of land subsidence near existing CSG drill sites in the region and raised concerns over potential risks to groundwater.

In a statement, an Arrow Energy spokesperson said the applications were initially lodged in 2021 and 2022, with the company undertaking work since then to update the plans.

“Since then, we’ve refined our field design, enabling us to meet production obligations with the smallest possible footprint,” the spokesperson said.

“Given the time that has elapsed, changes to our plans and our commitment to providing clarity to landholders, we decided to withdraw the applications.

“If a new application is required in the future, we will consult with relevant stakeholders and the community as part of our process.”

Calls for regulation change

Mr Browne and Lock the Gate Alliance have also called on the Queensland Government to do more to protect the Condamine Alluvium from new CSG drilling.

In the lead-up to the state election, the Liberal National Party – then in opposition – pledged to amend the Regional Planning Interests Act 2014 to strengthen the protections on groundwater from resource projects.

The legislation regulates the impacts from resource and other regulated activities on identified areas of regional interest.

During a public event in October, Member for Condamine and former Cecil Plains farmer Pat Weir said the LNP had “a lot of concerns” about the potential impacts of CSG drilling on the Condamine Alluvium.

“Our proposal is to amend the Regional Planning Interest Act so that any resource company has to prove beyond any reasonable doubt they will not have a detrimental impact on that land above or below the surface,” Mr Weir said.

Queensland Lock the Gate Alliance spokesperson Nick Holliday said the Queensland Government had to “do more to support Australian farmers under threat from coal seam gas”.

“It’s more important than ever that the changes promised by the Queensland LNP Government to protect the Condamine Alluvium are now implemented thoroughly, so that Arrow does not come back in a few years and try to access these farms again,” Mr Holliday said.

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