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Environment & Communities By Ralph Gunness, Environment Manager, Arrow Energy As one of Australia’s leading coal seam gas producers, Arrow Energy recognizes that corporate success is much more than building a bottom line. The company’s greatest responsibility is operating in a sustainable and intelligent way that leverages our financial, technical and intellectual resources to the benefit of our investors, employees and communities. In Australia, Arrow has four producing projects, which account for more than 20 percent of the state of Queensland’s overall gas production. Three of these projects are located near Dalby in the Surat Basin, west of Brisbane. Dalby is currently experiencing one of its worst droughts in history. The local aquifers are depleting and have not been significantly recharged in over a decade. The local community is struggling to obtain long term sources of water. Arrow draws quantities of water from coal seams deep underground as part of the gas production process. Traditionally, this water is stored in large evaporation ponds near the wellhead as it is brackish to saline in quality and, as such, must be contained. Arrow is committed to recycling this water for the benefit of the wider Dalby community. Surat Basin Coal Seam Gas Characteristics The quantity of water within coal seams varies due to a number of factors, including depth, location and well completion techniques. Arrow estimates that its Surat Basin operations could produce up to 15 megalitres (ML) per day. Analysis of the Coal Seam Gas (CSG) water completed exclusively for Arrow’s Surat Basin gas fields resulted in no detectable levels of hydrocarbons, carcinogens, radioactivity, mercury, copper, silver, arsenic, tellurium, nickel, boron, lead and selenium, and halogenated methanes. 54 MINING.com September 2008 Investing in Australia’s Sustainable Future Current Arrow coal seam gas water recycling projects include: 1. the dalby Council Potable Water Supply (reverse osmosis plant upgrade) Arrow ‘s coal seam gas water in the Surat Basin has been filtered in carbon for generations and is about one-sixth the concentration of sea water. Further, it does not contain the elements that are found in waste water, which makes it ideal for reverse osmosis treatment. In most cases, reverse osmosis is an expensive process and not practical for areas where potable water is in abundance. However, the viability of a reverse osmosis plant increases in drought-affected areas where declining water supplies increase the value of water. While this value is hard to determine, one thing is for sure - the cost of not having any water at all far exceeds its costs of production. Dalby Council, in conjunction with Arrow, has initiated the development of a new reverse osmosis plant to treat coal seam gas water from our nearby gas fields. The company plans to supply up to 5ML per day to the plant for household and industrial use over a 15 year period. The AU $16 million plus plant is scheduled for construction in the first half of 2008 and is being jointly funded by the State and Commonwealth Governments, Dalby Town Council and Arrow Energy. Arrow Energy will supply water produced from its Tipton West coal seam gas operation to the plant at no cost, but will benefit from certain avoided water disposal costs in the field. 2. irrigation The development of two additional reverse osmosis plants is currently being considered in the Dalby region to allow irrigation use of Arrow’s coal seam gas water. Arrow conducted a regional economic analysis study of a potential irrigation area using recycled coal seam gas water. This study concluded that treated water would increase the region’s agricultural output. This project is ongoing. 3. Salt Water fish farm Arrow Energy, in conjunction with the Queensland Government’s Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI), is currently conducting a research project to investigate the viability of farming salt water fish in its coal seam gas evaporation ponds. 15,000 fingerlings have been successfully raised over the past 18 months by the DPI in coal seam gas water. The fingerlings comprise Mulloway species. The trial is continuing but represents a promising opportunity to utilise the water for large scale aquaculture. 4. Beef feedlots The Guidelines to the Australian Water Standards specifiy that raw water to be used for stock water should not contain salt greater than 8,000 ppm salt for nonpregnant beef livestock and 6,000 ppm for pregnant beef livestock. Untreated coal seam gas water is currently being supplied to two local feedlots, replacing upper aquifer bore water at the rate of up to 4ML per day. 5. Municipal Waste Water treatment Arrow is investigating the use of coal seam gas water as a replacement for potable water used in municipal sewage treatment systems. 6. Supplying Wash Water to local Coal Washing Plants Coal seam gas water drawn from Arrow’s Surat Basin fields is used by coal mining companies to wash coal, thereby allowing the upper aquifer to recharge. In a regime of diminished water supply, this kind of water has the potential to be of tremendous value as a sustainable resource for rural projects and town water consumption. Although further research and consideration of agricultural, environmental and economic macro factors is required to determine this value, Arrow is committed to finishing what it has started and continuing its investment in Australia’s sustainable future.
Environment & Communities Brisbane city, river and the Story Bridge. Table 1: Surat Basin coal seam gas water quality parameters Water QUality ParaMeter 55 MINING.com September 2008 Unit froM ParSonS BrinCKerhoff CSg rePort (StateWide) arroW energy reSUltS in the SUrat BaSin at tiPton pH _ 8-9 7.6 – 8.9 Total Dissolved Solids mg/l 1200-4300 4500 – 6000 with outliers above and below these readings Sodium mg/L 300-1700 1840 – 3461 Chloride mg/l 590-1900 2060 Sulphate mg/l 5-10 2 Bicarbonate as CaCO 3 mg/l 580-950 1,030 Iron mg/l 0.07 – 4.5 Manganese mg/l 0.07 – 0.1 Fluoride mg/l 0.77 to 1 Table 2: General guide to maximum salt tolerance of animals and non-halophytic plants compared to the saltiness of sea water and coal seam gas water. iteM SaltineSS in PPM Sea Water 35,000 - 37,400 Beef Cattle: suggested maximum concentration for non-pregnant stock Sheep: suggested maximum concentration 8,000 6,000 Pigs 3,000 Cotton 1,200 Other Non-halophytic Crops & Plants 1,000 – 1,200 Drinking Water 500 Coal seam gas water (Surat Basin) 4,000 - 7,500 Source: compiled from table 4.3.1. Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality, Volume 1, 2000, and Authors research. Links and References Arrow Energy Australian Drinking Water Guidelines - Community Water Planner Coal Seam Gas (CSG) Dalby Dalby Council Queensland’s Overall Gas Production Queensland’s Department of Mines and Energy (DME) Queensland Government’s Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI) Regional Minerals Program (RMP): Executive Summary - Coal Seam Gas Water Management Study Surat Basin Water Sanitation and Health (WSH) Click here for full list of links: http://go.mining.com/sept08-a15
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