The Surat Basin and Coal Seam Gas: Toowoomba at the Centre of a Gas Economy

The Surat Basin coal seam gas fields that underlie much of the western Darling Downs and extending south toward the Queensland-NSW border represent one of Australia's most significant gas resource developments of the past decade. The multi-billion dollar investment in the CSG-to-LNG export chain, connecting the Surat Basin fields via pipeline to the Gladstone LNG export facilities, has made Queensland a major LNG exporter and has had significant economic consequences for Toowoomba as the nearest major city to the gas fields.

Toowoomba's population grew substantially during the peak construction phase of the CSG projects, as accommodation, services, and logistics for a workforce deployed across a wide geographic area were concentrated in the city. The legacy of this construction phase includes commercial and industrial property that was built for the CSG service economy and has since needed to find alternative occupants as the project moved to the lower-employment production phase.

Agricultural landholder relationships with CSG operators have been among the most contentious aspects of the industry's development in the Darling Downs. The regulatory framework governing access to agricultural land for gas well drilling and pipeline installation has been revised following community advocacy that argued the initial framework was insufficiently protective of farming businesses. Coexistence arrangements negotiated between individual landholders and gas companies vary considerably in their terms and outcomes.

The long-term future of the Surat Basin CSG fields depends on the trajectory of global LNG demand and the competitive position of Australian LNG relative to new supply from the Middle East, the United States, and East Africa. The geological quality of the Surat Basin resources is good, but the industry faces cost challenges that will determine which fields remain viable as legacy contracts roll off and market pricing reflects the changed supply environment.

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