Coal exploration off coast

BY JEREMY BROWN

Alarm bells have been ringing in the conservation movement since late last year when East Coast Minerals (ECM) applied for licenses to explore 6000 square kilometres of ocean for coal reserves close to the NSW coast.

The company is waiting for federal government approval with a decision expected later this year.

ECM proposes to use the underground coal gasification (UCG) process, an untested “green” technology based on controlled burning of coal in the underground seam. Air is forced down a pipe into the coal bed where it combines with ignited coal to produce syngas which is returned to the surface via a second pipe.

Syngas – 12 per cent hydrogen, 30 per cent carbon monoxide and 50 per cent nitrogen – will then be used to create diesel fuel, according to ECM managing director Richard Sealey. He said NSW Government estimates indicate there are about 28 billion tonnes of coal in the exploration zone.

Anti-whaling organisation Sea Shepherd’s Vanessa Pearce said work prior to extraction of Syngas creates problems for whales and dolphins because of the use of seismic and sonic exploration techniques.

“There have been cases of whale beachings associated with offshore explorations for oil and gas,” she said. “The continental shelf off the east coast of Australia is a major migratory route for humpback whales, the mainstay of the valuable and growing whale watching industry.”

Pearce said the drilling rigs would be clearly visible along the coast from Newcastle to Wollongong, and major industrial sites with potential for pollution, traffic and safety issues would emerge at every point where the pipelines come to shore.

“Most of the adjacent coastal area is either developed or national park so it’s hard to know where the output from the offshore rigs will come ashore,” she said.

The Green’s submission to the Department of Primary Industries, Coal & Petroleum argues that at a time of peak oil and climate change, NSW should be looking to renewable sources of energy rather than continuing its dependence on coal.

And according to website ‘theoildrum.com’, exploration of coal reserves is becoming frantic as available oil diminishes. At the same time, heavily polluting conventional coal-fired electricity plants are becoming unfeasible worldwide as environmental regulations tighten. The Economist magazine reported that new ‘clean air’ rules in the USA have led to cancellation of dozens of coal-fired plants – in Nevada a $5 billion 1500 MW plant was scrapped and the company is now investing in solar and wind generation.

But more than 500 new coal-fired plants are planned to go online in China by 2012.

For information visit www.theoildrum.com/story/2006/3/5/010/09681