#Coal seam gas plan abandoned for St Peters

The coal seam gas miner Dart Energy has announced it will not drill at St Peters in Sydney’s inner west, SMH reported.

The company made the statement to the stock exchange yesterday, following Marrickville Council’s attempt to used its planning powers to block mining at the proposed Holland Street location.

The council had renewed recycling firm Dial-A-Dump’s permission to operate on the land on Tuesday night, but added a condition that banned exploration or extraction of coal seam gas on the site.
Dart cited reports about the council’s decision in its statement yesterday.

“Dart is committed to open and transparent engagement with the communities in which we exist, and to deal with all our stakeholders in a co-operative manner,” the company said.

It said the company “reconfirms drilling will not be undertaken at St Peters” as it first indicated to the stock exchange last July.

But Stop CSG president Jacinta Green said the company’s July announcement had only stated that drilling at St Peters was “not a priority” and did not take it off the table.

“Only when the approval to drill at the St Peters site is officially revoked, will we drop our cynicism and then begin to think about a quiet celebration,” she said.

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The Coal Seam Methane conference will be happening on 30 July – 1 August. It will discuss strategy and opportunity for explorers, producers and partners. For more information, download the conference agenda here.