Introduction

Australia is one of the richest countries in natural resources. It is one of the prime
hydrocarbon exporting nations amongst the other three nations in the OECD (Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development) (Miningoilgasjobs.com.au, 2015). Australia has
allocated its huge investment on gas and oil industries with a motto to bring an end to the
ever growing demand of the energy because of continual rise of population. The
consequences of the huge investments on oil and gas extraction on the productive land has
huge influence on ecological imbalance. As a result, the food production capacity, availability
of cultivable land, fresh water for irrigation etc. has all been diminishing in terms of quality
and quantity. So coal seam gas (CSG) is introduced with an aim to meet the ever growing
energy demand and to protect the natural resources. In addition to this the national parks of
NT i.e. Litchfield and Kakadu are losing its natural beauty, flora and fauna etc. and so on.
In this project report we will be reviewing and examining the potential for the use of
hydraulic fracturing in the extraction of onshore deposits of hydrocarbon resources in the NT.
Furthermore, we will keep an eye on the existing farming operations, ground water quality
and other activities.

BACKGROUND
Hydraulic fracturing is a well-stimulation technique in which rock is fractured by a
pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of 'fracking fluid' into a
wellbore to create cracks in the deep-rock formations through which natural gas, petroleum,
and brine will flow more freely.

Coal Seam Gas

Coal seam gas is the unconventional natural gas present alongside coal in coal deposits. It is
generally known as CSG and is primarily methane which is colourless and odourless. These
gases and coals are formed from fallen trees and other plants matter and animals over a
million years period under pressure. It is similar to methane gas and can be used for home
cooking and heating, industrial purposes and generating electricity. CSG can be extracted
from the depth of 300 to 1000 meters from the ground level. We have abundant quantity of
coal seam gases in eastern Australia i.e. Queensland's Bowen and Surat basins.

NT Hawk Report
On November 28 2014, Allan Hawke AC commissioner of Hydraulic fracturing inquiry
presented the report on inquiry into hydraulic fracturing and the potential effects on the
environment in the NT. The report was on the environmental risks associated with hydraulic
fracturing. More over the report highlights the balance on promoting shale gas production,

setting the environmental management parameters, facilitating land access and fostering the
NTs economic development which is struck at the political level. It also enquires how the
production will get to markets as a result of the work that Government has under way. The
Inquiry also recommends that the Government will restructure the NT Environmental
Assessment Act and the bilateral agreements with the Commonwealth on environmental
assessments and approvals. It also considers aligning the petroleum and mineral royalty
frameworks. The environmental risks associated with hydraulic fracturing can be managed
effectively with the creation of a robust regulatory regime. It also recommends land Planning
and the Environment, Land Resource Management, Mines and Energy and Primary Industry
and Fisheries to oversee the work required for the Northern Territory to set the standard for a
best practice regulatory regime

Hydraulic Fracturing in NT
Australia economy has been growing significantly as a result of commercial growth of shale
oil production and shale gas. It also has significant potential to become one of the next
countries with commercially viable shale gas and shale oil production. The Basins located in
the Northern Territory i.e. McArthur Basin (including the Beetaloo Sub-basin) and Georgina
Basin host some of the oldest potentially recoverable unconventional gas resources in the
world.
Hydraulic fracturing has been taking place since 1967 in the Northern Territory to enhance
hydrocarbon production from conventional reservoirs with vertical wells. But the fracturing
for unconventional hydrocarbons has been carried out since 2011 during exploration by
PetroFrontier through horizontal drilling and Falcon Oil & Gas through vertical drilling.

In the West Mereenie area hydraulic fracturing was applied to 7 wells to stimulate production
out of the 22 wells drilled in the area between 1991 and 1994. No adverse issues were
reported during that period due to the use of identical treatment chemicals for the fracturing
simulations. Furthermore 20 wells were used for fracturing process to stimulate production
out of 42 wells drilled in East Mereenie. During the period of 1973 to 1975 Magellan
Petroleum operated 11 wells in Palm Valley. But only five wells were used for hydraulic
fracturing to stimulate production. Pancontinental fractured one well in the Dingo area in
1984. Falcon Oil & Gas took the project of fracturing and deepening of the vertical well in
the Beetaloo sub-basin (McArthur Basin) in 2011.
Falcon Oil & Gas in cooperation with Origin Energy and Sasol is planning further work in
the Beetaloo sub-basin which includes 5 horizontal wells and 1 vertical well with hydraulic
fracture stimulation in each. Central Petroleum is planning for unconventional exploration in
central Amadeus, southern Georgina and southern Amadeus Basins, in collaboration with
Santos and Total. In addition to this Santos will carry out hydraulic fracturing in 8 wells in
the Mereenie area from 2014 in order to stimulate production from conventional reservoirs.
PetroFrontier will carry out fracturing process in the southern Georgina Basin in
collaboration with Statoil. Three wells will be subjected for future hydraulic stimulation and
production testing from the five vertical test wells to be drilled in 2014. Tamboran Resources
in cooperation with Santos will test unconventional targets around the Tanumbirini prospect
in the McArthur Basin and Davis prospect in the Ngalia Basin during the period of 2014 to
2016. Imperial Oil & Gas will be operating in the eastern McArthur Basin. After knowing the
availability of shale gas in the area of prospect the drilling and evaluation of horizontal well
involving fracturing and gas production testing will be carried out.

Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing

Hydraulic fracturing has been one of the key methods of extracting conventional and
unconventional gas resources. Hydraulic fracturing has been widely used in Australia within
the geothermal and gas industries. It has been used by the global oil and gas industry since
the 1940s. Hydraulic fracturing has embroiled in controversy due to the over alleged impacts
on public health and the environment The process of fracturing a well is far from benign.
The impacts of hydraulic fracturing have been severe and devastating. All our day to day
activities has been influenced by hydraulic fracturing. All the natural resources like air, water,
plants etc. are degrading day by day. It has huge impacts on environment, social, health,
safety, agriculture, seismicity etc. and so on.

Impact on Existing Farming Operation

Hydraulic fracturing has largely effected the farming sector as it drains out large amount of
underground water/aquifers as by-product while extracting the natural gas and oils productive
land for agriculture has been converted into oil and gas manufacturing site. More over the

parliament and legislative are silent on this fact thus encouraging the mining companies to
explore and exploit the high yielding productive farmland. In recent days due to over drilling
of cultivable land in rural areas of NT it poses threat on farmers of losing the fertile land for
farming. It causes drought and poses threat of toxic and radioactive release on pure water
hence transforming it into impure water which results in death of cattle, depletion of floras
and fauna. It also effects the national economic growth and causes the scarcity of food due to
less production as a result of polluted water supplies to the farming. It changes the pattern
and amount of the rainfall due to the emission of toxic gases to the atmosphere.

Impacts on Ground Water Quality

Water use, and competition for water resources with other current and potential users and
environmental requirements, is a significant issue for unconventional gas extraction and
hydraulic fracturing. During fracking large quantities of fluids are pumped down a well of
steel pipe with cement casing at high pressure and into the depth of minerals. After the
completion of the process the fluid returns to the surface and is discharged on land, pits,
existing water courses or reinjected into aquifers. The additives used in hydraulic fracturing
are highly poisonous and carcinogenic resulting in the degradation of underground aquifers.

This water may contain formaldehyde, nitrate, nitrite, chlorides, salts, ethyl benzene, xylenes,
hydrochloric acids, other minerals, metal ions and high level of total dissolved solids. Well
water levels and surface water flows are decreasing because of hydraulic fracturing.
Concentrations of methane and hydrogen sulphide along with sediments and black coal fines
is increasing in wells and waters. The water has become brown and smells like petroleum.
The Aquifers are becoming contaminated from seam water, fracturing fluids and drilling
chemicals as a result of hydraulic fracturing. Water used in hydraulic fracturing are largely
irrecoverable as a result pumping aquifers, rivers, lakes, and streams are drying out resulting
the serious threat to the source of water supply.

Impacts on Environment and Socio-Economic

The socio-economic impact is the shortage of accommodation and increasing prices of food
due to the clearance of residential and cultivable land and changing it into manufacturing of
oil and gases sites. Furthermore, it will create a huge difference between the economies of
local farmers and workers of mining operations thus inviting the conditions of conflicts and
much more. It is obvious that this projects will bring many opportunities to the locals but also
can be a main root to many social, economic and environmental issues. Deterioration of
cultivable land, clearing of trees and bushland for the site, degradation of surface and
underground water/aquifers due to toxic release from the excavation and drilling of wells,
excessive exploitation of underground water reserves, ecological imbalance, effect in the
livelihood of local inhabitants, depletion of flora and fauna and various health problems are
all the negative impacts of such projects.

Impacts on Health Safety and Seismicity

Hydraulic fracturing has huge impacts on human and animal health. The chemicals used in
the process are toxic and poisonous to human health. The inhabitants in proximity to the sites
are exposed to various kinds of health risks through contaminated water and polluted air.
Local drinking water sources become contaminated with methane, arsenic, and radium due to
leaks and other accidental drilling procedures. Ground and surface water becomes polluted
because of the toxic used while drilling. Use of polluted water containing radioactive
materials can lead to various serious health effects, including respiratory diseases and cancer.
Hydraulic Fracturing has also led to various safety concerns i.e. the dangers and risks of
transporting crude oil by trains, transporting crude oil by pipelines, industrial accidents, and
the safety of industry workers. Due to recent explosions and derailments, there are rising
concerns about the dangers of oil transport by railroad. Various activities which are
undergoing on the sites are killing workers.
There have been various proponents who believe that fracking causes induced seismicity,
which refers to an earthquake caused by human activities that would not have occurred in the
absence of the said activity. Injecting high-pressure fluid into shale rock formations in order
to create networks of open fractures to extract hydrocarbons inevitably causes microearthquakes, typically with magnitudes. As fracking locations have increased, so have the
number and frequency earthquakes felt by surrounding residents; however, the magnitudes of
these earthquakes have not been strong enough to cause structural or severe damage

Discussions and Recommendations

Australia is one of the richest countries in natural resources and huge investments are made
for the extraction of natural gases and oils beneath the land. It has contributed in taxes and
revenue of the government. Moreover, it had made a significant contribution on the rise of the
GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of Australia. Australia has a very stable government which

has been contributing a lot in the infrastructure and economic development as well as
prosperity of the country. Because of its stable government, clear policy, laws, rules and
regulations it is turning into the focal point for the investors to invest and invent. As a result,
many companies are operating at different sites for the extraction of natural and oil gas. With
the upgrading technologies and infrastructures, various efficient equipment is used for the
extraction and location of substantial potential for extraction has been figured out.
Despite of the lots of contribution of capital to the Australian economy it poses a severe threat
to the society, environment, health, agriculture etc. and so on. Hydraulic fracturing requires a
huge mass of land thus degrading the quality and quantity of the land mass as well as causing
the inhabitants to lose their housing, foods and occupation. It requires a large amount of
water for the processes thus resulting the scarcity of water for irrigation and household
purposes. Furthermore, the water beneath the lands/aquifers are highly polluted because of
the toxic and poisonous chemicals involved in the process. All of this above mentioned facts
affects the quality and quantity of the soil, air, water, habitation, economy, floras and faunas.
I would like to recommend various points for the extraction of mineral gas and oils:

Provision should be made for the restoration of land after the completion of the
project.
Enough funds should be allocated to safeguard the future of the inhabitants who were
bound to lose their land.
Prefeasibility survey should be conducted to figure out the threat of releasing toxic,
radioactive wastes in the site and necessary measures should be taken to minimise the
effect on society and environment.
Various technologies should be used in order to conserve the underground water while
drilling i.e. proper casing.
Provision should be made for the treatment of the emitted gases and toxic substances
polluting the air and water.

Conclusion
In my opinion the use of hydraulic fracturing is not a good idea as we can see that it has lots
of cons than prons. We just cannot sacrifice the existence of the planet in stake in the
greediness to extract more oils and minerals. Although we can see more benefits in short
terms from fracking but we cannot neglect the oncoming devastating scenario which will
probably affect each and every component of our surroundings. It is utmost to preserve the
planet for our upcoming generations. The huge allocation of budget made on the extraction of
oils and gases can be utilized on infrastructure development like social, health, education,
transportation etc. Moreover, I do support that fracking has been contributing a lot to the
economic growth of the country but if we can do that without deteriorating the present status

of natural resources than it would not make a global headline. We can invest on fracking with
the use of advanced technology with safeguarding the rights of human beings to live in clean
and hygienic environment.

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