Gday Azza,
I do have a few questions, therefore please feel free to answer at your own conveniance...
I assume the placement of a well is based on criteria of underground geology / deposits, but how exactly is the siting of a well determined? Also how deep can/do the wells go? I guess every situation will be very different because of the natural variation of factors associated with each site... How is a well brought into production? Also by well head do you mean that the blow-out was at the surface (at the head of the pressure) rather than below ground somewhere?
I remember seeing reports of this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidoarjo_mud_flow a few years back and was extremely concerned by this incident at the time... In your personal opinion, what risk management systems are in place here in Australia to prevent the occurrence of such unprecedented incidents and furthermore, in the event of something unprecedented - what is the worst case scenario?

Nevermind my questions on how a well is brought into production. As I read back over older posts I see that there is information covering off on aspects of well production already...

Future generations will 'marvel' out our ability to strip mine the planet to feed a couple of generations. A landscape littered with plugged wells, compacted soils, abandoned rusty infrastructure, toxic ponds, and possibly no clean water to drink. It's completely insane to do so much damage to the environment when we already have sustainable alternatives.

These are complex issues - Lets take a step back and also consider more broadly the process of denial and moral exclusion in arguments re: Environmental Conflict

See how one small mistake can trigger a big unforeseen disaster!
Lake Peigneur sinkhole disaster
Sinkhole drains entire lake and surrounding buildings into a salt mine shaft
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddlrGkeOzsI&NR=1

Gday Chunky, thanks for your questions, sorry my response is on the delayed side...

1. Placement: To start off with, everything is based of your exploration results... I will start in order:

Seismic (usually only done in area's of limited previous exploration, unlike around Moranbah where the area is heavily explored and companies are always sharing results), this gives you a pretty good picture of where the coal seam is, what depth, where it runs and which way the seam leans or dips (you will hear the phrase up or down dip used a lot, this is what there are referring to)... Usually done by clearing or slashing relatively straight lines that are 10-20km long, lines are generally 5-20km apart from on another, sometimes lines also intersect others at 90 degree angles before continuing on, it all depends on the geologist's really... Then seismic vibration buggies will move along the line and give the ground a good shake at 10-20m intervals, while geophones that are pushed into the ground 100m behind and 100m in front of the buggy, pick up the sound waves and vibrations as they bounce off the underlying strata, this information is then fed into a support truck in real time, which deciphers the information and thus gives you your picture of what lie's underneath you...

Exploration Wells: These are drilled sporadically along coal seams, often they intersect multiple coal seams on the way down bringing core and chip samples of each coal seam back to the surface... From there the geologists will do there tests on the core samples to test gas density and coal permeability... If results are good, the next step is to be decided

Appraisal Wells: Just because the results are good in an exploration well, doesn't mean the gas will flow... Thats where these come in, they are essentially production wells, without the pipeline, instead the wells are just flaring the gas off, you need to test the god factor of whether the gas is going to flow and what those flow rates are like... These are usually done, with wells in a close cluster generally 2 to 6 wells, they can be Surface to In Seam Wells, Frac wells or Just single vertical wells into the coal seam... They are pumped for 6-12 months generally before they are shut down and results are assessed...

Production Wells: Generally they keep to a grid pattern of usually 750m to 1000m apart, but they are not super strict on the pattern... They can move them about reasonably... As long as the vertical well remains on the down dipped section of the gas bearing seam, and in the case of lateral's they have to be coming from directly up-dip, you can't go wrong... Obviously the wells cannot go into faulted sections of coal either, as it is pointless

Yes by blow-out Chunky i mean gas coming up from underground to the surface, its not an underground blow-out... Blow-outs to the extent you saw down in Dalby are not common, however small well kicks during drilling are, I wouldn't use the word common, but they happen, gas rushes up the well if you hit a gas pocket, sometimes with water behind it, but generally they are brought under control within a few seconds to a minute...

Coal Seam Gas Wells generally do not go past 650 to 700m at the deepest, however that said if it is viable we can extract gas at depths greater than 1000m, if the gas is worth it... Exploration wells are generally 400m to 750m deep, but we have drilled exploration wells to 1100m before...

Let me say this Chunky, you can have all the risk management systems in place in the world, but when you have human interaction in a human process, they is always the element of "human error..." The Sidojaro Mud Flow (Thanks by the way very interesting read) is about as extreme as you can get, there is not doubt the well had something to do with it, but to me it was like the perfect storm, with all the events combined nothing is going to stop something like that... The biggest difference I will point out is depth, they are over 2,220m down if I read correct, pressure's at that depth are far greater than anything we will ever deal with here in Australia... But is something like that possible here at home, I do not know... I would hope not...

I firmly believe however here in Australia, we are well and truly a cut above the rest of the world... And I really do believe that... Can this industry work, I believe it can... But it needs to work from all parties, from the Landowner all the way up to the Prime Minister of Australia...

Azza, even with some environmental protections, this doesn't justify strip mining the planet for short term gain. And I don't care how slick the spin is, communities everywhere will not be able to sustain itself on a fractured landscape. With every well that goes down, so will the value of the land. What about the impact of all the roads and infrastructure. And the toxic ponds?
We really have to get serious about our impact on the planet. There are battles being fought by local groups all over the planet due to our insatiable appetite for cheap energy. We have to get real about understanding the impact from the beginning to the end of a products life. We have to get real about local independent energy generation, unless somebody comes up with a Tesla 'free energy' bonanza that can be fed to the grid.
Sure I understand that you have to make a buck. I just ask that you spend some time researching the bigger picture. Coz it ain't pretty!

Hi all. I'm new here to the Weatherzone forums but I have been browsing posts while I was waiting for Admin. to let me in .
the one about fracking caught my eye and I settled down to some serious reading . Why ?
Because I had never heard of fracking until earlier this year when this report was published on the Perth Now news site.
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/special-...l-1226010221897
And that certainly grabbed my attention I can tell you.
The Wellington Dam sites that are mentioned in the article are only a couple of kms away through the bush across the road from our place.

We knew they were drilling last year because we could hear it ; started around late August from memory and it nearly drove us mad , went on for months and it seemed like 24 hours a day because you could hear it during the night too.
Thing is , we never knew who **they** were or what they were drilling for , in fact nobody living around here seemed to know and we weren't told anything.
After reading the news report though , I can understand why none of the locals were informed of what was going on. No way do I want anything like that here , so close to home not to mention the fact of so close a proximity to Wellie Dam.
De-watering out the other side of Collie for the mines has caused major problems for landholders and upset the flow of the south branch of the Collie River.
I shudder at the thought of contamination of the Collie River and the Wellington Dam and the fact that it is the major tributory flowing into the Leshinault Inlet down on the coast.

Anyways thanks for the patience to answer everyone's questions Azza , I'm sure I'll have a couple as I mull over all of this.

Thanks for the insight Azza,

So I am curious about the Appraisal Wells
flared to the environment? If so, is there any way this gas can be captured?
so what is being assessed here is it the gas flow rate?
Honestly never gave much thought to the depths involved, so some of the gas is actually being extracted from great depth ~1km or deeper into earth. Does this gas need to be pumped up or does it come up under its own pressure? I am also curious about the types of protocols in place that would cause a Stop Work/Drilling situation... while drilling 'what' (i.e. pressure? seismic activity? temperature? anything) is being monitored to ensure that work can be stopped before um, a blow-out? Can this in fact be predicted at all?

Hi OzRose, welcome to the discussion!
It was only about 4 years ago that I started to hear about LNG port proposals for Curtis Island of Gladstone. At the time I just thought that LNG was all about capturing gas from the existing coal mines and didn't quite understand the implications of the proposals. While I had some concerns it wasn't until I was in Darwin 2009 that I started to hear of all the LNG proposals happening up there and in turn those happening in neighbouring WA. Since my return to QLD and now having learnt a lot more about what is happening 'big picture' I realised how 'big' this industry is and how long they have been gearing up (last 10-20 years). While it seems like CSG industry has appeared overnight - there have been some very carefully laid plans by vested interests - so in a way I think most communities have been caught by surprise as they really had no idea what was happening (and possibly many communities and members of general public still don't). Interestingly Anna Bligh (QLD premier) has been spruiking about Policy that will protect Agricultural lands from mining... though I believe it will not affect CSG?! another piece of legislation that has no teeth...

The Big Energy PR machine has been working overtime brainwashing us into accepting that gas is natural and clean. Yeah sure the former may be true, but does the slick propaganda campaign on the tv the past 20 years show the dirty side. No toxic ponds. No showing the landscape carved up with roads. No ugly prcessing plants. No warning of the noise,the dust, and the wear and tear of trucks on the roads. No warning of 'intruders' on your land. No right to stop them. And no warning of the new 'settlements' popping up all over the place, and the mercenary style security guards fresh from war zones moving into your community.
We are dealing with an industry that has been actively suppressing sustainable technologies for decades, and they have used every dirty trick in the book. Do yourself a favour and look into halliburton, the criminal enterprise it truly is. And the evil scum like Cheney, Bush and Rumsfeld. Bin Laden was a picnic compared to the disgrace to the human race these people are. I dare you to seek the bigger picture. Believe me, it's far worse than you think. Look into the shale mining in canada. Look at the mess they've made, and they've only just started. Add up the many pieces of the puzzle which is pure corporate insanity. These people will risk anything for power and wealth!

Check out what 400 'exploratory' wells has done to the Tara landscape. Now imagine that multiplied by 400. 40000 wells are planned. How on earth can anybody with any brains justify such large scale blight on the landscape, not to mention the other problems, known, and yet to be known. All for 20 years of energy. Completely insane. Time to wake up from our middle class trance!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150198420309812.334307.651364811#!/photo.php?fbid=10150198422574812&set=a.10150198420309812.334307.651364811&type=1&theater

Definately not going out of my way to read anything about those horrible people, it can't help anything to learn about their evils or the fact that they get away with whatever they want! I would much rather focus on information that is constructive and helps me feel empowered, as well as motivates me to take action.

I couldn't agree more... so what can we do about it?
Can we stop demand for the product? No. Consumption Growth.
Can we change legislation? Yes um No. Ok Yes, No, I don't know, I think so?
Can we regulate the industry? Yes.
and there are a whole swathe of other options about what can be done. The Lock the Gate action is an example of what people are doing -They are doing whatever is in their power!!! I feel a lot of empathy for what they are going through & fully support their action, though I cannot get involved. For a number of reasons, the big picture sometimes overwhelms me.... We cannot change demand. We cannot easily change the legislation....the government is tied up in this financially so unlikely that they will just pull back unless they have a good reason.
That reason would be evidence of demonstrable harm to the environment which would trigger investigations & court proceedings and the resulting backlash from the voting public would also cause swift policy redirection? maybe...well to my mind thats where it's really at... If CSG operations prove to be harmful under current and existing statutes and regulations - the industry will need to be shut down!

Chunky,

Yes the gas is burnt off to the atmosphere using flare stacks, that are postioned away from the well head and are connected via a 6 inch polyline... Most modern flare stacks have auto-ignition systems in them, as soon as they sense a gas flow from the well they will spark to ignite the gas flow...

To answer your question Chunky the gas is burnt off, therefore there is nothing to capture... We have means yes of capturing the gas flow rather than burning it off, however under the Petroleum and Gas Act's Authority to Prospect we have no legal right to capture the gas, only to test it and appraise it...

Appraisal wells are pumped for 6-12 months for multiple reason's... Yes one is the flow rate... The biggest reason is it takes 6-12 months for a well to settle into its rhythm... When a well is first brought online it takes about 2 months to reach a flow peak (eg. 700,000 cubic feet per day) after that the well will steadily decline in flow and eventually reach a plateau (eg. 450,000 cubic feet per day)... Once the well plateau's, usually takes 10-12 months but it can be as little as 6, it gives us a rough idea how much gas is down there in that general area and we add that amount to our proven reserve's over the wider area...

To apply for a Petroleum Lease you must be able to prove that you have enough gas to service one, if the government believe you don't they will tell you to do more exploration boost your reserve's and then come back... Now I know there is people sitting there saying like the government are going to knock you back, well we have just had a number knocked back by the Queensland Government as they believe we do not have enough data to prove those reserve's and told us to do more exploration...

No Chunky we do not need to pump our gas, it flows out by itself under its own natural pressure...

Chunky a blow-out cannot be predicted, if they could, we would never have any, you can only have preventative measure's eg. large steel pre-collar, a good B.O.P (Blow-out Preventer) which monitors and regulates the well pressure if it gets to high, it also provides a quick well kill point, to flood the well annulus (gap between drill stem and casing) with water or drilling muds in the event of a blow-out, and in an extreme case like a total loss of well control from a blow-out it can severe the drill stem in an instant... Also an Annular Bag is required, this keeps an even amount of back pressure on a well down the well annulus thus reducing the gases ability to flow up...

Hope this answers you questions...

What on earth can be mpre constructive than the people knowing the truth. And what can be more motivating than fighting for a future for your children once you know we are in peril. And if you don't know what we are up against, constructive solutions will fall short. I've seen that happen over and over again with the green movement, due to a lack of comprehension of the issues. The most important thing is for the pillage to be reduced by a very large amount because it's out of control. The corporate elite are riding roughshod over the sovereignty of peoples all over the world. And they are up to some unbelievably devious and murderous schemes like trying to destroy non GM food supply, hence chemtrails. It will force the world to buy their aluminium resistant strains. I could go on.

Azza, thanks for answering my questions, there is a lot more for me to learn.

Loopy, I want to agree with you in sentiment but cannot agree with your arguments
Personally I believe it's the devil! But politics and religion aside...
Destructive solutions will however work?!
ok, in YOUR Humble opinion - what then are the issues?
Consumpton Growth These are the issues as I understand it!

Here comes another 'clean and green' coming to frack up western Australia. You have probably seen their slick PR campaign on tv recently. Here's what they don't tell you.

The truth behind Chevron's greenwashing: 'The true cost of Chevron'
http://links.org.au/node/2370

June 22, 2011 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- Television viewers in Australia are being bombarded by an expensive series of PR advertisements extolling how much the giant "energy" corporation Chevron "agrees" with the Australian people's concerns for the environment. In a classic example of "greenwashing", Chevron's "We Agree" campaign is a concerted effort to defuse opposition to its activities around the world.

But as with most capitalist advertising, the truth and reality behind the glossy claims are very different, as the True Cost of Chevron: An Alternative Annual Report below highlights in extensive detail. Fortunately too, the satirical exposers of corporate shams the Yes Men joined forces with the environmental groups Amazon Watch and the Rainforest Action Network to issue a bogus press release and set up a phony website to expose the "We Agree" campaign.

Below is the introduction to the True Cost of Chevron: An Alternative Annual Report, which was released in May 2011. Readers can download the report or read it on screen below.

* * *

CEO John Watson opens Chevron’s 2010 Annual Report by telling the corporation’s stockholders that “2010 was an outstanding year for Chevron".

We do not agree.

We, the communities who bear the costs of Chevron’s operations, have witnessed a year in which Chevron’s performance was anything but exceptional. As we have documented in this third installment of the True Cost of Chevron: An Alternative Annual Report, Chevron continues its long history of ravaging natural environments, violating human rights, ignoring the longstanding decisions of Indigenous communities, destroying traditional livelihoods, and converting its dollars into unjust political influence in the United States and around the world.

This report is a record of egregious corporate behaviour that — in locations as diverse as California, Burma, Colombia, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, the Philippines and the US Gulf Coast — has spanned decades and carries on today.

In the year that saw the world’s largest unintentional oil spill, intensifying global concerns about the safety of the hydrocarbon industry, Chevron has failed to change its behaviour.

* In 2010, Chevron pursued ever-riskier and ever-deeper offshore projects in the South China Sea, the North Sea, the US Gulf Coast and the Canadian Arctic.

* In 2010, Chevron intensified its investments in three controversial liquefied natural gas projects in areas of Western Australia that have tremendous international conservation significance.

* In 2010, Chevron announced a major expansion of its Alberta, Canada tar sands projects, which are destroying the environment and severely impacting the health, livelihood and cultural preservation of Indigenous communities living downstream from this destructive development.

* In 2010, a rupture of Chevron’s pipeline in Salt Lake City, Utah dumped over 33,000 gallons of oil into Red Butte Creek, exposing residents to oil fumes and unknown health impacts as the pollution flowed downstream through this densely populated streambed. After the pipeline was turned back on under Chevron’s assurances of safety, a second rupture occurred within a few hundred feet of the first spill just five months later, dumping an additional 21,000 gallons of oil.

* In 2010, Chevron continued its well-documented history of releasing toxic pollution in both Angola and Nigeria through recurrent leaks and waste discharges, and the harmful practice of gas flaring.

* In 2010, the Chevron joint venture developing the supergiant Tengiz Field in Kazakhstan emitted such high levels of toxins into the air that the country’s government fined the operation nearly $64 million.

* In 2010, a Chevron pipeline explosion covered part of an Indonesian village in hot crude oil, leaving two children suffering burn wounds and a community devastated.

* In 2010, two extrajudicial killings by Burmese Army battalions providing security for the Yadana pipeline—owned by a joint venture that includes Chevron—were documented by EarthRights International.

* In 2010, in an effort to silence local community voices opposed to the corporation’s destructive practices, Chevron disenfranchised shareholders by denying admission to its annual shareholder meeting to 17 individuals who held legal proxies.

2010 was not an outstanding year for the communities where Chevron operates.

The campaigns undertaken by communities around the world to hold Chevron accountable for its actions were outstanding. The acknowledgements of Chevron’s wrongdoings by government entities in locations around the globe were outstanding. The hard fought victories achieved by citizens uniting to change the Chevron Way were outstanding.

After nearly 18 years of litigation, the Indigenous people and campesinos of the Ecuadorian Amazon achieved a critical milestone in 2010. An Ecuadorian court ordered Chevron to pay $9.5 billion for cleanup, clean water, health care and other reconstruction efforts for the tens of thousands of people affected by the company’s widespread contamination in the region.

Environment Texas, the Sierra Club and the National Environmental Law Center reached a settlement in 2010 with Chevron Phillips Chemical requiring the company to pay a $2 million penalty and implement major changes at its chemical plant in Baytown, Texas. The plant had violated its clean air permits hundreds of times since 2003, leading to more than one million pounds of illegal emissions.

In an unprecedented victory for the community of Richmond, California, in 2010 the State Court of Appeals upheld the majority of findings in a lower court decision that the Environmental Impact Report for the expansion of Chevron’s Richmond refinery violated state environmental law.

After decades of campaigning against Chevron’s highly polluting coal operations, communities in Alabama, New Mexico and Wyoming welcomed — with cautious optimism — Chevron’s announcement that 2010 would be the year the corporation would exit the coal industry.

We celebrate these triumphs and the many courageous individuals whose refusal to be silenced has been instrumental in bringing Chevron’s egregious actions to light.

Even so, there is much work to be done. Chevron is vigorously contesting the landmark verdict in the Ecuador case and is continuing flagrant violations of environmental and human rights around the globe. As Luis Yanza, coordinator for the Affected People’s Assembly in Ecuador, writes, “the struggle will continue today stronger than before ... to ensure that justice triumphs over impunity.”

We invite you to read our report of the true cost of Chevron’s operations in communities from Alaska to Thailand, to decide for yourself if Chevron displayed an outstanding record in 2010, and to join with the growing international movement to hold Chevron accountable for its abuses around the globe.

Some big things are going on in Gladstone industry wise - they have been dredging for the new ports and in last few months dugong & dolphins have washed up dead. High incidence of marine mammal deaths are being reported from CQ to Northern Queensland (some are saying its part of a wider trend due to flooding impacts /turbidity) but certainly the exponential industry expansion in gladdy extending from mainland areas to Curtis /wiggin Island is bound to have a toll on coastal habitat values & wildlife. Once could mistakenly think that Gladstone is already over-burdened with industry cluster - but I think the industry really is just getting itself warmed up The State Development Areas are dotted all over the place & I shudder to think how far north the industry expansion will come. Hope that measures are taken to keep some parts of the CQ coastline free from heavy industrial development because the cumulative impacts are relatively poorly understood & therefore I don't see how impacts can be appropriately identified let alone managed and mitigated for. BTW Several large mature turtles were found dead on Farnborough beach the other day - reports says it was boat strikes. Coastal environments in CQ & surrounds are clearly coming under more & more pressure...

Agreed Chunky... Between Gladstone and Mackay there is some beautiful sections of coastline (especially around the Stanage Bay area)... Even though I work in these types of industries, I would hate to see coal loading and LNG facilities expand into some of these pristine area's....