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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 1332 asked in the Legislative Council on 6 December 2018 by Hon Robin Chapple

Parliament: 40 Session: 1

HYDRAULIC FRACTURING — MODELLING

1332. Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE to the Leader of the House representing the Premier:

I refer to the McGowan government's announcement on Tuesday, 27 November 2018, that it would approve fracking.

(1) On what basis was it decided that 400 petajoules a year would be the estimated output for a fracking industry in WA, as cited in the fracking inquiry report?

(2) Does the Premier agree with recent economic modelling by The Australia Institute, which concludes that gas prices may increase if unconventional gas is introduced into the WA domestic market?

(3) If no to (2), on what modelling is the Premier basing his opinion?

(4) Does the Premier agree with The Australia Institute's modelling, which estimates between three and 19 full-time equivalent jobs for Aboriginal people will be created by the fracking industry in WA?

(5) If no to (4), on what modelling is the Premier basing his opinion?

Hon SUE ELLERY replied:

I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question.

I did have a note when the member tabled this question, but I do not have it with me now, about the description PJ/y. I know what terajoules per day is, but what is PJ/y?

Hon Robin Chapple: Petajoules per year.

Hon SUE ELLERY: The answer is as follows.

(1) Four hundred petajoules per year is equivalent to 1 110 terajoules per day, which is equivalent to the forecast total annual domestic demand out to at least 2022. At page 383, the inquiry notes —

� a new unconventional gas field in Western Australia, may produce as little as 100 TJ/d over twenty years. At the other extreme, combined production from gas fields may approach 500–1,000 TJ/d. The Inquiry considered a 1,100 TJ/d scenario in our GHG risk assessment as it meets the forecast Western Australian domestic demand out to at least 2022, even though it is not likely that onshore fields based on hydraulic fracture stimulation technologies would entirely supplant domestic supplies from conventional sources in the coming decades.

(2)–(5) The Premier notes the Australia Institute's longstanding opposition to all forms of natural gas development. The Premier gives greater regard to the two-volume, 609-page report prepared by the Independent Scientific Panel Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracture Stimulation in Western Australia, which considered over 550 technical papers on shale fracturing, 3 000 technical papers on all aspects of horizontal wells, and incorporates independent peer review by technical experts from across Australia.