Queensland Pacific Metals Ltd (QPM) has launched QPM Energy Pty Ltd and the Carbon Abatement Hub Project (CAH Project) to secure a gas supply chain for the TECH Project.
In a statement, QPM said the CAH Project would be Australia’s first waste gas collection and processing facility for multiple users.
Northern Bowen Basin (NBB) coals generally contain large amounts of gas, which is released during the coal extraction process via:
- Open-pit coal mines emit direct methane into the atmosphere; and
- Gas pre-drained from underground coal mines is flared and vented before coal extraction.
Once operational, QPM said the CAH Project would establish a hub for the extraction and beneficial use of this vast gas resource, reducing considerable amounts of carbon emissions while also allowing industrial growth in North Queensland by establishing a new gas supply chain.
The CAH Project will build the necessary infrastructure to treat waste coal mine gas. It will also link to the existing North Queensland Gas Pipeline with a capacity of 35PJ per annum to transport gas to the TECH Project and other clients in the Townsville region.
The TECH Project and QPM are key to establishing a profitable waste coal mine gas industry in the NBB. The TECH Project uses roughly 13PJ of gas per year when fully operational, thereby providing baseload demand for QPM Energy and the CAH Project.
QPM Energy has been actively collaborating with regional mining operators to better understand gas deposits and resources, as well as to build waste gas collection initiatives such as:
- Short-term opportunities involving the collection of gas that has already been produced and flared; and
- Medium to long-term prospects for pre-drainage programs in conjunction with future mining development.
According to QPM, this is a “win-win” situation in which greenhouse gas emissions from metallurgical coal mining are decreased significantly while QPM Energy assures gas supply.
Based on the work completed, QPM Energy is certain that there are enough gas resources available to meet the needs of the TECH Project while also supplying other gas users. There are special worries about power generation in the North Queensland region. A new gas supply would allow for peaking power services and firming renewable energy supplies.
The CAH Project will safeguard QPM’s gas supply chain and enable it to accomplish its goal of producing negative carbon nickel and cobalt. QPM added that it would help the Queensland Government meet its emissions reduction targets established in its Energy and Jobs Policy.
QPM Energy has applied for regulatory permissions with Federal and State Government agencies. A petroleum facility licence (PFL 33) for the gas compression facility and a petroleum pipeline licence (PPL 2073) for the underground pipeline connecting the gas facility to the North Queensland Gas Pipeline are among the approvals.
Under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC), an application for Environmental Authority from the Queensland Government has been submitted, along with a referral to the federal government. The EPBC application’s public review phase is now concluded.
“I am delighted and indeed excited that QPM Energy is now in a position to formally launch its first Carbon Abatement hub in the Northern Bowen Basin. By making the Carbon Abatement Hub available to all suppliers and users of gas, it will have an immediate impact of reducing Queensland’s carbon emissions and to help secure the energy required to produce carbon-negative nickel and cobalt. There are several gas sourcing opportunities currently being investigated and I look forward to announcing this in the coming months,” QPM Managing Director Dr Stephen Grocott said.
