The QLD State Government has approved the environmental impact statement (EIS) for Arrow’s Bowen Gas Project (BGP), in central Queensland.
The decision supports Arrow’s recent announcement that it was commencing front-end engineering and design (FEED) work for the proposed Bowen upstream gas project.
Arrow Energy CEO Andrew Faulkner said both decisions were critical milestones in progressing the development of Arrow’s significant Bowen Basin gas reserves.
“We welcome the Queensland Government’s approval of the EIS for the proposed Bowen development,” he said.
“Arrow’s decision yesterday to proceed with FEED demonstrates the attractiveness of our Bowen Basin reserves.”
BGP involves developing Arrow’s tenements near its existing gas fields with staged expansion of about 4000 gas wells and gas infrastructure in an 8000km2 area about 150km south west of Mackay over 40 years.
The project’s environmental assessment has been progressing since Arrow applied for approval to voluntarily prepare an EIS in April 2012. The latest submission, a supplementary report to the EIS (SREIS), was submitted to government in June 2014. It addressed public comments and other EIS submissions, and provided further information from additional studies.
BGP will now be assessed by the Australian Government.
BGP lies outside the Moranbah Gas Project, which is run by a partnership between Arrow and AGL and is one of the largest CSG projects by area in Australia. The Moranbah Gas Project supplies gas to the Moranbah and Townsville power stations, an ammonium nitrate plant in Moranbah and two mineral refining facilities in north Queensland.
