27 DECEMBER 2023 WorldWide Drilling Resource® Hydraulic Fracturing Okay Compiled by Editorial Staff WorldWide Drilling Resource® The Northern Territory (NT) government in Australia is allowing a full-scale go-ahead for the onshore gas industry in the gas-rich Beetaloo Subbasin, five years after a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing was lifted. A scientific inquiry in 2018 concluded industry risks could be managed if all of the inquiry’s 135 recommendations were implemented. Recently, the government released its Strategic Regional Environmental and Baseline Assessment (SREBA) for the Beetaloo Subbasin. It is the most comprehensive regional scientific study ever conducted in the Northern Territory and provides information necessary for appropriate decisions to be made about the development of any natural gas extraction in the Beetaloo region, including the assessment of water and biodiversity resources, to inform land-use planning, and the collection of baseline data to provide a reference for ongoing monitoring. To enact the SREBA, mitigation measures have been implemented, including: • Water Quality and Quantity - there is now a very large body of data and research findings relating to water resources in the Beetaloo region and, in particular, to the groundwater resources in the Cambrian Limestone Aquifer. • Aquatic Ecosystems - systematic biodiversity surveys and regional mapping have greatly increased Photo courtesy Falcon Oil & Gas. G&O Hydraulic Cont’d on page 28.
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