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Energy experts have questioned the viability of a Coalition plan to extract onshore gas in Gippsland.
Key points:
- The Victorian Coalition is vowing to explore onshore gas in the Otway and Gippsland basins if elected
- Energy experts question whether there is enough gas to warrant the move
- The Coalition has also denied it has any interest in fracking, as alleged by Labor
The Victorian Coalition has pledged to "turbocharge" Victoria's onshore gas extraction if elected on Saturday, with plans to extract from the Otway and Gippsland basins at a commercial scale.
Berry Creek farmer and member of Farmers for Climate Action, Fergus O'Connor, said he was vehemently against any onshore gas proposal.
"We are such a fertile state — why upset our agriculture for just a small amount of gas?" he said.
Report says gas is there
But the Coalition, citing a 2020 report to the government from consultant Ernst and Young, said conventional gas was readily accessible in Victoria with no risk to groundwater or the agricultural sector.
The report states there is a maximum of 830 petajoules of onshore gas in the Otway and Gippsland Basins — around four year's worth of supply — with extraction able to begin within a few years.
The lower estimates in the report suggest there is about 128 petajoules of gas.
Nationals Member for Gippsland South Danny O'Brien said extraction of the gas would create 6,400 jobs.
All of the gas would likely be extracted within 10 years, and Grattan Institute energy program director Tony Wood said the gas would be accessible with minimal impact on the local landscape.
Is it worth it?
However, beyond environmental risks, Mr Wood questioned whether onshore gas extraction was worth the investment.
He said there was nothing currently stopping a private company exploring for onshore gas in the state.
"The fact that there's no interest there from private industry right now … the idea that you will turbocharge gas in this way doesn't make any sense," he said.
The Coalition also wants to keep the gas for Victorian use only, but Mr Wood said that was legally dubious, with Victoria currently in an agreement to share its gas with other eastern states.
Environment Victoria chief executive Jonathan La Nauze said there was little value in the proposal.
"At best, we're talking about a couple of years of supply of gas," he said.
"More than likely, we're talking about half a year's supply."
Mr La Nauze said it also was difficult to gauge the potential impact on the environment because of the lack of interest shown by the private sector.
"It's seemed so unlikely that any of these projects would go ahead, so we don't know specific locations because the industry just hasn't shown any real interest," he said.
Unconventional gas
Deakin University director for energy policy and natural resource law Samantha Hepburn was concerned about the impact on the local landscape.
The 2020 report said to extract the maximum potential amount of 115 petajoules in Gippsland, it would require 70 exploration wells and 27 development wells.
"And it's not just wells," she said.
"It's also the access roads, infrastructure for distributing gas, and potentially the need to create new pipelines."
Professor Hepburn said the proposal would make some sense if the Coalition was proposing to extract unconventional gas through coal seam gas or fracking.
"Really, to turbocharge onshore gas, you'd need unconventional gas," she said.
"There's no estimate on what the reservoirs of unconventional gas might produce because it's banned, but there are reports that it might be worth a fair bit."
No fracking plans
The Coalition has repeatedly denied it had any interest in fracking or unconventional gas extraction, which was banned by the state government in 2017 and enshrined in the state's constitution last year.
Labor has accused the Coalition of proposing "fracking in disguise" with its gas proposal.
Mr Wood said there was no indication the Coalition was considering unconventional gas, even though, he argued, it could be part of a solution to Victoria's waning gas supplies, with offshore gas in the Gippsland basin running low.
Mr La Nauze, Professor Hepburn and Mr O'Connor all warned about the environmental impact of fracking.
And Mr O'Brien maintained that was not the Coalition's interest.
"Fracking is banned in Victoria and we're leaving it at that," he said.
"The government's own reports say there are opportunities there.
"There are potential gas reserves and we should be using that.
"It's an important transition tool to make sure we keep the lights on, and more of it will help drive prices down, both for gas and electricity."