QGC Pty Ltd (previously Queensland Gas Company) is one of the largest of several Australian

coalbed methane Coalbed methane (CBM or coal-bed methane), coalbed gas, coal seam gas (CSG), or coal-mine methane (CMM) is a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds. In recent decades it has become an important source of energy in United States, Canada, Au ...

companies developing

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Eart ...

reserves within the Bowen and

Surat Basin The Surat Basin is a geological basin in eastern Australia. It is part of the Great Artesian Basin drainage basin of Australia. The Surat Basin extends across an area of 270,000 square kilometres and the southern third of the basin occupies a lar ...

s of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. The company has an estimated value of around A$13 billion.

BG Group BG Group plc was a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Reading, United Kingdom. On 8 April 2015, Royal Dutch Shell announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire BG Group for $70 billion, subject to regulatory and ...

acquired Queensland Gas Company in November 2008. QGC was included in the February 2016 acquisition of BG Group by

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

Operations

Coal seam gas extraction within the Surat and Bowen Basins of Queensland, Australia forms the basis of the company's main operations. QGC has constructed a coalbed methane liquefaction plant on Curtis Island off the coast of

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

Central Queensland Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Capricorn Coas ...

. The company has built a , diameter pipeline from Miles to Gladstone, making it the longest buried pipeline of its type in Australia. Work was delayed after QGC was found to have contravened state environmental laws. About 20% of Queensland's natural gas was produced by QGC in 2009. The company has a gas plant called Kenya, which is located near

Tara, Queensland Tara is a rural town and locality in the Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Tara had a population of 1,980 people. Geography Tara is on the Darling Downs. The town is at the centre of the locality. Immediat ...

. Three coal seam gas fields Lauren, Codie, and Kate are associated with the Kenya plant. Leakage testing conducted in April and May 2010 found more than half of the wells in these gas fields were leaking extremely low level concentrations of methane.

Environmental protests

In 2011,

Bob Irwin Robert Eric Irwin (born 8 June 1939) is an Australian naturalist, animal conservationist, former zookeeper, and a herpetologist known for his conservation and husbandry work with apex predators and reptiles. He is the founder of the Queenslan ...

the Australian environmentalist and founder of

Australia Zoo Australia Zoo is a zoo located in the Australian state of Queensland on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sunshine Coast near Beerwah, Queensland, Beerwah/Glass House Mountains National Park, Glass House Mountains. It is a member of the Zoo and A ...

, was arrested after protesting against QGC and refusing to obey an order from police to move on. This was part of a long running protest by Tara protestors to disrupt the gas infrastructure being forced on them without their consent.John McCarthy (10 August 2010)
Tara residents blockade Queensland Gas Company to stop seismic testing

The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...

current affairs program produced several investigative reports on what has been described as the great Australian land grab and the environmental dangers of coal seam gas.

References

External links

* {{Shell plc Natural gas companies of Australia Natural gas in Queensland Shell plc