QGC, a subsidiary of BG Group, is currently developing the $21.5 billion Queensland Curtis LNG Project.
The project involves expansion of gas production in the Surat Basin of southern Queensland; construction of a 540 km underground pipeline network; and construction of a two-train, 8.5 million t/a gas liquefaction plant on Curtis Island off the Queensland coast.
Gross production will be 250,000 bbl/d of oil equivalent. QGC expects to drill 6,000 wells over more than 4,500 sq km of tenements by 2030, including an initial 2,000 wells by 2014.
The project remains on schedule for first gas to the liquefaction plant around the end of 2013 and first LNG in 2014.
In addition to this infrastructure, QGC also has its fair share of land. The company has added 350 sq km to agricultural production in Queensland through partnerships with farmers and graziers, with QGC-owned land – from Dalby to Wandoan in southern Queensland – representing more than half the number of properties purchased to accommodate gas wells and associated infrastructure. The agreements for share farming and agistment, on 22 of the company’s 41 properties, involve 4,500 head of cattle and 1,500 ha of irrigated and dry-land crops.
QGC Managing Director Derek Fisher says QGC will continue to manage its land for high-productivity agriculture and enter partnerships with farmers and graziers because they are best placed to make the most of the land.
“We acknowledge we are in the gas business, not agriculture, and recognise that farm production has been taking place successfully alongside gas infrastructure in Queensland for more than 10 years,”? explains Mr Fisher.
“Cattle are grazing and crops are thriving in the same paddocks where wells are producing gas right across the Surat Basin and now increasingly on our own property.
“Through leasing, share farming and agistment agreements, local rural producers are improving their economies of scale.”?
QGC provides the landholder highly accurate maps that document the proposed site for gas infrastructure on each property – QGC confers with the landholder, who must sign off before any gas-related construction begins.
Working with the farmer
According to QGC, it only uses a small percentage of its land for gas operations, so it made sense for QGC’s rural property team and local farmers to work together so both industries could benefit.
The company’s 1,600 ha property, “˜Tharlane’, in the Fairymeadow district near Miles, provides an example of what can be achieved.
QGC called for expressions of interest in working the land in 2012, advertising in local newspapers and registering interested parties. From 17 submissions, the winning bid was a proposal from three local farmers.
“We formed the Tharlane Farming Group where three local farmers come together to put together a bid to farm this area co-operatively,”? says local farmer Bruce Uebergang.
“We had to document what we were going to do with the land, how we were going to care for it, our cropping programs, and that was worked through with QGC.
“We put together what we thought was a competitive offer, and we were fortunate enough to be successful.”?
Members of the Tharlane Farming Group already have QGC gas wells and infrastructure on their properties and have experience in grazing and harvesting alongside natural gas. Tharlane now has 34 wells and associated infrastructure, and there are plans for a field compression station.
“The gas well issue is one which is a bit complex. I think QGC has probably learned some lessons around farmers’ concerns about putting them in exactly the right place. But, like anything, we’re learning to work with them,”? says Mr Uebergang.
According to the grazier
QGC’s 7,740 ha, amalgamated property “˜Junbar’, located approximately 30 km south-west of Chinchilla, has 145 CSG wells and associated pipelines, and the gas infrastructure takes up 2 per cent of the land.
Neighbouring landholder Jamie Dougall had been dealing with QGC since 2005, when the company negotiated to put five wells on his property. When he heard that there was a chance to agist his cattle on QGC’s Junbar property next door, he decided to get involved.
“12 months ago, QGC invited local people, local cattlemen to tender for these QGC properties. I found it a good experience,”? says Mr Dougall.
“This particular property is right next door to our own operation, so it was easier just to throw the gate open and let the cattle through – there was no major cost in walking into this enterprise.”?
With years of experience working alongside natural gas wells and infrastructure, Mr Dougall knows how the grazing-and-gas combination works, and he seized the chance to expand his enterprise.
“This land of QGC’s that is coming on-line has made big changes within our family business,”? he said. “I’ve had a son away at boarding school and it’s allowed my wife and I to invite our son back home to work in the family business.”?
The Dougall family runs three mobs of cattle at Junbar and has three paddocks used in rotation for the cattle.
“Every third of a year, they crop a new paddock with fresh pastures and I believe it works well,”? Mr Dougall says.
“There’s a lot of road building, a lot of pads, a lot of machinery being moved in, a lot of earth-moving gear. I suggest that in 12 months or two years’ time, all of that will be finished and then we’ll just have what I call “˜meter maids’ going around and metering the wells.
“Two years ago I moved cattle from my property onto this property. They feed right up to the gas wells. There’s an engine running there and they’re quite used to that. If the grass is green right next to the well head, that’s where they are. They don’t worry about that.”?
Consultation is vital
It seems that where previous industry players did not have the resources, capability or understanding to work most efficiently with agriculture and landholders, today it is more important than ever to have a greater level of initial engagement with landholders, and to continue to improve on stakeholder management.
Companies can work closely with landholders to comprehend the requirements of each property and landholder, and how both businesses – the farm and the gas – can both benefit. This information and communication can then optimise the planning and design process for gas wells and infrastructure.