Lucas Energy has started drawing up agreements with up to 150 landholders along the company’s preferred route for a 98km high pressure methane gas pipeline from Gloucester to Hexham.
The pipeline is part of Lucas Energy’s $200 million Gloucester Coal Seam Gas Project which will extract methane gas from across the Gloucester Basin and pipe it to Hexham via a central processing facility south of Gloucester.
Gloucester Coal Seam Gas Project Land and Approvals Manager Stuart Galway said the company’s preferred route runs the pipeline south from the central processing plant along low voltage electricity easements for around 33km before heading south-west at Stroud Road to probably follow Blackcamp Road to the outskirts of Clarence Town, and then on to Hexham.
More than 50km of the pipeline will follow already established infrastructure corridors with the remainder criss-crossing private land for up to 43km.
Mr Galway said negotiations were “well underway” to purchase the necessary 25-30 metre easements from landholders.
While verbal agreements had been reached with most landholders, Mr Galway admitted some had suggested the company “look elsewhere” for an alternative route for the pipeline.
He said compulsory acquisition was an option if easements could not be negotiated.
“Sometimes you can move an alignment, and we do have some options in a couple of spots, but ultimately, if a landholder says no, there are other powers we can use,” Mr Galway said.
“But that’s not really what we are about,” he said.
Stroud Road landholder Peter Madden is in no hurry to sign any agreement to allow a methane gas pipeline through his property.
Mr Madden said he is waiting for a response from Lucas Energy regarding his concerns about the planned depth of the pipeline, and how it will affect the future sub-division potential of his land.
“I don’t have a problem with the pipeline, as long as it is done properly,” Mr Madden said.
“I won’t stop them as long as they meet my concerns.”
Mr Madden said he believed that overall, the project was positive when considered “in the big picture.”
“I’d rather see the gas than more coal,” he said.
Mr Galway admitted that some landholders were concerned about the risk of the pipeline rupturing, resulting in gas leaks and possibly explosions.
“The way that gas pipelines are designed these days, they are built not to rupture,” Mr Galway said.
Lucas Energy expects environmental assessments of the project to be on public display by early next year.
They hope to begin construction of up to 90 gas wells by mid-2009.