PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Australian Federal Court in late December rejected a legal challenge that would have jeopardized a major resources project in the Northern Territory.
The Environment Centre of the Northern Territory lodged an application to the Federal Court on July 28 to have the Beetaloo cooperative drilling programme and associated grant decisions set aside.
Under the A$50-million Beetaloo cooperative drilling programme, grants of up to A$7.5-million per well are available to applicants. Three grants to Imperial Oil and Gas will provide up to A$21-million to support three new exploration wells in the company’s EP187 exploration zone in the basin’s east.
The Environment Center for the Northern Territory has claimed that gas production in the Beetaloo basin could increase Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 20%.
“This is a common sense decision that will allow grants for the development of the Beetaloo basin to proceed, which has the potential to deliver thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity to the Northern Territory,” federal Resources and Water Minister Keith Pitt said.
“The Instrument under which the grant programme was written and the approval decision to award grants to Imperial Oil and Gas were both valid and we welcome that decision so that we can move forward with the programme.
“The Beetaloo basin has enormous potential to deliver the gas Australia needs for the future.
“Our resources and energy sector are vitally important to the Australian economy and are forecast to generate a record A$379-billion this financial year,” Pitt added.
“The taxes and royalties that are generated from the resources sector allow state and federal governments to provide the health, education and other essential services Australians rely on."