A $500 million, 420 kilometre gas pipeline is still set to cut through the Upper Hunter, despite not one shovel being put in the ground since the project was first approved 11 years ago.
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The Hunter Gas Pipeline was given the tick of approval on February 11, 2009, but is yet to begin construction, and recently requested a lapse date extension of five years - which was also approved by the NSW Government.
But what it lacks in action, it has made up for in controversy.
This is largely due to its link to the Santos Narrabri Gas Project, which has received 23,007 submissions, 98 per cent of which were negative - although that drops to approximately two-thirds when looking at those exclusively from the local government area.
Under that proposal, 850 gas wells would be installed across a space of approximately 5.4 million hectares, and take 20 years to complete.
Hunter Gas Pipeline Pty Ltd (HGP) intends on being Santos' vehicle to the Hunter and Sydney Basin.
Interestingly, HGP actually made a submission to the NSW Department of Planning urging them not to approve the Narrabri project in isolation. They stated without a way to feed the state's domestic market, the plan was not in the public interest.
Santos claim they would build their own high-pressure gas transition pipeline, but such infrastructure is yet to undergo a planning approval process.
Hunter Gas are of the opinion they would be unable to do this, stating "past undertakings and practices demonstrate the failure of gas producers including Santos to provide such public benefits."
HGP managing director Garbis Simonian believes if the Narrabri gasfield was to get the go ahead, his company would be the ideal access route to crucial areas in the domestic market.
Also, in a bold if not slightly bizarre move, he called into question the validity of his own project if it wasn't going to be included as part of Santos' plan.
"The approved pipeline must, for procedural and merit base validity be considered as integrated as an essential component for the Santos Narrabri project, otherwise its approval is of little benefit to the community of NSW," he stated in the submission.
At the heart of the pipeline's purpose lies a need to provide NSW with gas they can control, according to the businessman.
With supply from the Bass Strait set to decline, he said shortages will affect homes and industries unless HGP can provide baseload certainty. It would also help the state government deliver an extra 70 petajoules of gas, which they voiced their desire for in a recent energy deal struck with their federal counterparts.
And, as the decline continues, they will extend their project north to Wallumbilla in Queensland where they plan to also access Northern Australia Gas. Should that eventuate, the total cost would blow out to $1.2 billion and the distance to 820 km.
As per their website, approximately 370 jobs would be created as part of the first phase.
Towns all along the proposed route have been voicing their concerns about the potential implications of hosting such a significant piece of infrastructure.
In a meeting held in Quirindi on February 8, which attracted parties from as far south as Singleton, local David Wallis voiced his worry about the pipeline going underneath Borambil Creek - which contributes to the town's water supply.
At the same meeting, some people were reportedly shocked to learn they had built properties or sheds within the structure's 200 metre corridor, due to a change in route.
In other cases, landowners had purchased a property without being aware of the plans, as a lack of a confirmed 30 metre easement for the pipeline meant it didn't appear on a title search.
There are no laws in NSW stating a minimum distance must be in place between a gas pipeline and a residential structure, causing some locals to fear it would be uncomfortably close to their homes.
Despite concerns such as these, Mr Simonian said his company were doing their best to appropriately liaise with affected communities.
"There was extensive consultation with all stakeholders as part of the original approval of the pipeline corridor 10 years ago," he said.
"The recent five year extension to this approval means that HGP will embark on an equally extensive program over the next six months, to identify specific landholder circumstances along the corridor and provide opportunities for community and stakeholder discussions about the pipeline."
Local government has also had input on the situation, with Upper Hunter Shire Council (UHSC) director of Environmental and Community Services, Mat Pringle, revealing they made a submission prior the project's approval in 2008.
He said it was not an objection but simply raised a couple of issues, such as requesting connection points for Murrurundi, Scone and Aberdeen. A further submission was made just last year as the modification was being determined, in which UHSC made HGP aware the latest route would intersect with the Scone to Murrurundi water pipeline.
As shown so far though, it is heavily interlinked with the Santos project, and question marks will remain over HGP's future until the Narrabri proposal is decided upon by the Independent Planning Commission (IPC), which it was referred to on March 13, 2020.