Thursday, September 6, 2012

Aboriginal blow to gas hub deal - The West Australian

Aboriginal blow to gas hub deal - The West Australian: The lead Aboriginal organisation in talks with the State Government over the proposed $40 billion gas hub at James Price Point near Broome has appealed against the Environmental Protection Authority's approval of the project.

It says the project threatened to leave Aboriginal people in the Kimberley worse off.

The Kimberley Land Council said the EPA's report was "virtually silent" on the project's social and cultural effects and traditional owners could be forced to withdraw their support.

KLC chief executive Nolan Hunter denied the EPA was unable to address the effects under its remit, saying the strategic assessment agreement signed by the State and Federal governments in 2008 made it a requirement for approval.

2 comments:

  1. They will only get more of the tick the boxes stunt everyone else is getting.

    The only hope here is the Wilderness Society can find a legal case against them.

    However Barnett has all his eggs in the China basket,India it seems is no China.

    All his ports,Oakajee,JPP,Point Torment and a few in the Pilbara,all rely on China going gangbusters.Or as Barnett would say,"20 to 30 years of sustained growth."

    He seems to have the view,Woodside is a bit the same,of being the only kid in town.But a quick look around the region tells a different story.

    Everyone went ahead with massive expansions to feed the China boom,and it seems it was a boom, now that the pace has come off quite severely,there are record stockpiles of just about everything,everywhere.

    China has kept their iron ore mines going even though they are operating at a loss,as the employment is more important to them than the profits.Their coal mines are still going even though coal stockpiles are at record levels.While this continues there will be very little running down which overseas companies need to get prices and demand up again.

    So this buys time.If the iron ore situation turned around today it would take BHP,for example,at least 2 years to get back on track with the Port Hedland outer harbour.

    Any delays at this stage to JPP could buy a couple of years breathing space for the opponents.

    By then,regardless of the election result,Barnett himself says he will be gone.

    The WA government is heading into a debt crisis.This will get very serious if any or all of Barnetts big ticket projects have substantial blowouts.Whoever the gov is they will be too busy to pay so much attention to JPP,or Point Torment and Oakajee.

    The next six months with China,and to some extent India,will tell the story.

    But when things get going again,look out!
    Back to the ports,digging up the Kimberley,dams,food bowls,cotton,canals,mass destruction.

    They will try and weaken laws while the downturn continues,we need people who want them strengthened.

    http://www.theage.com.au/business/china-slowdown-hits-indonesian-coal-exporters-20120907-25i18.html

    Indonesia's merchandise exports have fallen for four straight months, largely as its commodities shipments to China slowed down, pressuring the trade deficit and the rupiah.

    "I think there is more downside pressure for the rest of the year and China's coal demand growth may soften further in the coming months, especially since demand from the key industrial users, like cement makers and steel mills, are also moderating," said Dong Yueying, secretary-general of China Coal Transport & Distribution Association.
    ...
    It costs Indonesia's large miners between $US30 and $US55 to produce a tonne of coal and transport it to ports, a low cost only matched by some South African mines. Australia's large miners spend at least $US80.
    ...
    "Because demand in Europe is poor, so everyone will try to move their coal to China," he said at the Beijing conference. "We may see supply growth surpassing demand over the coming months."

    Despite the slowdown, Indonesia needs heavy investment in infrastructure to ensure it can meet demand in the future, especially as India's import needs grow.

    "Indonesia's coal industry is at risk today, but that risk will be actualised around 2015-2016, when increased quantities of coal will come from competitors in Australia, the U.S., Russia, Africa and even Columbia," said Bart Lucarelli, an adviser to the Indonesian government.

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  2. The blame game.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/06/us-bp-oilspill-blue-collar-idUSBRE8851DF20120906

    (Reuters) - BP executives wanted to concentrate blame for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster on "blue collar rig workers" in order to save themselves
    ...
    Government lawyers charge that the internal inquiry, run by BP executive Mark Bly, ignored embarrassing emails from drilling supervisors that preceded the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 people.

    "Bly and BP's management in London purposefully limited the investigation by excluding any of the systemic management failures that led to the disaster," the lawyers wrote.

    They continued: "This was a decision designed to ensure that the public and legal lines of accountability would be focused exclusively on blue collar rig workers and other contractor/defendants - but at all cost, not upon BP management and the inexplicable behaviors that coursed through the pages" of the internal BP emails.
    ...................

    Ouch!

    http://www.pennenergy.com/index/articles/newsdisplay/1738312907.html

    Daily Mirror
    September 6, 2012


    HOPES of BP settling over the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster have been hit.

    The US government now plans to sue for gross negligence, which BP denies. If proven, it could cost the oil giant £13.2billion.

    The rig exploded in April 2010, killing 11 and spilling millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
    .................................

    Conoco hits gas - at last.

    Sept 6 (LNGJ) - ConocoPhillips and Karoon Gas Australia drilled into a potential natural gas-bearing reservoir in their Boreas-1 prospect well in the Browse Basin of northwest Australia from where feed-gas will supply at least two new LNG projects, Browse LNG and the Prelude Floating LNG venture. The "Transocean Legend" semi-submersible rig is drilling the exploration well where ConocoPhillips is the operator. The exploration programme will continue through 2013.
    ...
    A faulty blowout preventer has cost them about 4 months delay.
    ..............................

    With all our gas,we find ourselves in this position because of export plants and Ferguson.

    Out of gas
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Thursday, 6 September 2012

    ON THE face of it, it would appear it was pure economics that led the Gillard government to opt to withdraw from buying out the dirtiest power plants. However, the move suggests that not only is the carbon reduction plan in peril, there is serious gas supply concerns that prevent any substantial fuel-switching. By Gomati Jagadeesan



    Unbelievable!

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