Environmentalists protest at Buru and Theia Energy oil and gas projects at Kimberley Economic Forum

As local community and business leaders gathered inside at the Kimberley Economic Forum, outside the gates environmentalists groups protested over new gas projects in the region. Gas company Buru Energy attended the Kimberley Economic Forum, from September 21 to 22, and gave an update on their planned Rafael project in the Kimberley. Protester, Environs Kimberley director Martin Pritchard, said if oil and gas companies like Buru continued with their plans there would be “severe” impacts on community health, the environment and the local tourism industry. “These companies have publicly available plans to open up the Kimberley to oil and gas industrialisation, including fracking,” he said. “The temperature increases from burning fossil fuels would have drastic negative impacts on the environment and make it very difficult to live in the Kimberley, with serious implications for health.” “It would severely hurt industries like tourism, which is currently a half-billion-dollar industry.” Speaking at the forum, Buru Energy chief executive Thomas Nador said the company’s Rafael discovery would not need to use fracking as the discovery was “free-flowing”. “Rafael does not need fracture stimulation. Rafael is the first conventional free flowing gas discovery in the Canning Basin,” he said. “We have a proud history of drilling in the Kimberley responsibly with very close Traditional Owner interactions and monitored environmental requirements. We have done 35 of these in the past.” Responding to questions about the environmental impact of the project, Mr Nador said the company had adhered to all regulations and government requirements. “In this day and age to actually have an opportunity to get on country to actually do a drilling operation, you do have to go though quite a bit of a process with regulators and government,” he said. “You do have to adhere to very strict protocols whilst you are in operation and you do have a very clear responsibility for abandonment and rehabilitation as well at the end. “So I feel very confident as CEO that the Rafael development, which in phase one will only involve two wells, is going to be done responsibly and sustainably.”