Australian Energy Producers makes Middle Arm senate inquiry submission

In a submission to the Senate’s inquiry into Middle Arm, Australia’s gas industry has called for fairness. Read what it said.

Australian Energy Producers has called for an objective and evidence-based assessment into the Middle Arm sustainable precinct development.

In its submission to the Senate inquiry, Australia’s peak gas industry body urged Senators to be “led by the evidence and the considerable body of regulatory and technical work that underpins this nation building precinct”.

“This inquiry should focus on the engineering, environmental, social and economic merits of the precinct to assure the public interest and to ensure the national interest,” AEP chief executive Samantha McCulloch said.

“Australian Energy Producers considers the $1.5bn of Commonwealth funding is vitally important to support marine infrastructure, including modular offloading facility, common user wharf and widening of shipping channels, and to ‘fast track’ the precinct; as well as for the Northern Territory Government’s development of the precinct’s strategic program consisting of a Master Development Plan and an Environmental Impact Assessment.”

Australian Energy Producers chief executive Samantha McCulloch. Picture:Supplied

She said AEP encouraged the committee to visit Darwin as part of the inquiry and “inspect first-hand the impressive sustainable development precinct that has operated successfully for decades and co-existed with the environment and community”.

She said that existence had “no adverse impacts” and the visit would allow the senators to “to hear from the precinct’s new tenants on the innovation and economic contribution that the precinct will unlock”.

The submission urged Senators to consider 12 major principles during the life of the inquiry.

Among those was that the Commonwealth and Territory government’s joint Strategic Environment Assessment is supported as an efficient, fit for purpose assessment approach to ensure the precinct meets its regulatory requirements.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The submission said the precinct is well positioned to service low emission advanced manufacturing and processing, renewable hydrogen production, carbon capture utilisation and storage, and critical minerals processing.

It said CCUS and the Safeguard Mechanism would provide the technological and regulatory grunt towards reaching net zero emissions baselines in 2050.

The submission stressed the importance of natural gas as a vital feedstock to generate high process heat for industrial production and helping firm the electricity grid as other technologies are developed.

It said there had been numerous environmental inquiries into Territory gas projects including the Beetaloo Basin project “and are subject to some of the world’s strongest regulations including water regulations and monitoring requirements”.

This masthead has contacted Environment Centre NT for a copy of its submission.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young chairs the committee which has one Greens, three Coalition and two ALP members. It is required to report by February 28, 2024.

The NT government wants to develop a green industrial precinct at Middle Arm.

Five energy projects have been allocated land at the site on a 12-month ‘not to deal’ basis.