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Community Profile: QGC in the Tara Region

QGC support for the Tara Festival of Culture and Camel Races this year, which featured shearing demonstrations, has enabled the event to showcase the region

QGC’s upstream production operations span from south-west of Dalby to Wandoan in the north with our main operations and supply base established centrally in Chinchilla. The community of Tara and the surrounding region forms a key part of this network featuring infrastructure used for natural gas production and water treatment.

QGC has been working in the Tara region for more than 10 years as we explore for and develop natural gas. As a result, this community has also participated in our programs to manage social impact, promote local content, offer employment opportunities and social investment.

In particular, during the first phase of construction of the Queensland Curtis LNG project (QCLNG) between 2011 and 2015, the Tara community has benefited from:

• Goods or services valued at $240 million purchased from local businesses

• $40 million invested in programs supporting health, education and community services across the Western Downs

• More than 20 sponsorships and grants with a total value of almost $2 million provided to schools, community groups and clubs in Tara directly

• Five participants in a program supporting apprenticeships and traineeships for industries other than natural gas.

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The gas chain• After gas is produced at a well, it is transferred at low pressure from a

well through underground gas gathering pipelines to a field compression station (FCS).

• The FCS removes water and impurities and compresses the gas for transportation via steel pipes to a central processing plant (CPP).

• At a CPP the last traces of water are removed and the gas is further compressed for transportation in high-pressure pipelines to domestic gas infrastructure or the Queensland Curtis LNG liquefaction plant on Curtis Island.

• Water produced by wells is transported by underground pipelines to water treatment plants. Around 97% of the water produced is recycled and supplied to SunWater for use by local irrigators, industry and towns.

QGC activities in the region include operators conducting fortnightly well site inspections as part of routine monitoring, above, and recycling of coal seam water for use by the community, below

Our natural gas operationsWe operate more than 2,500 production wells which supply gas to 24 field compression stations and six central processing plants as part of our gas supply chain.

Of this, the region where QGC is most active in the Tara region, immediately north of the town (see infographic on pages 4-5), comprises:

• About 600 wells• 10 field compression stations (FCSs)• About 1,200km of gathering lines• Kenya Water Treatment Plant• Windibri and Kenya Central Processing

Plants (CPPs)G a s wa s f i r s t p ro d u c e d f ro m t h i s infrastructure in 2006 and has supplied the Queensland market since. Now this infrastructure is also supplying our LNG plant on Curtis Island near Gladstone.

Within the Tara rural residential estates specifically, we have 17 wells of which 11 are located on QGC-owned land.

Most gas production occurs on land owned by private landholders as we believe our industry can successfully co-exist with private homes as well as agricultural, pastoral and other industries.

We have, however, purchased land required for our major infrastructure and a surrounding buffer. We currently own around 74,000 hectares across the Surat Basin region. Of this, 8,330 hectares are located in the Tara postcode area.

The types of operational activities typically seen around the Tara region are:• Rig movements along local roads to

access wells either in development or needing maintenance

• Operators conducting well site inspections as part of routine monitoring on a fortnightly basis

• Construction work on underground gathering and pipelines as new facilities are developed

• Inspections of all pipelines to regularly check their integrity, ranging from the gas and water gathering pipelines to the Wallumbilla Gladstone Pipeline – these include aerial, on-the-ground and in-trench inspections

• Supply deliveries to our major facilities• Buses moving our people between

Chinchilla and our Windibri and Kenya CPPs along the Chinchilla-Tara Road and Kogan-Condamine Road.

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We are committed to working sustainably and with respect for the environments in which we work and to complying with government approvals and standards.

Within the Surat Basin, including the Tara community, environmental management and monitoring activities are undertaken in the areas of:

• Noise monitoring – to ensure our infrastructure operates within regulations

• Air quality and greenhouse gas – tracking emissions from infrastructure including carbon dioxide

• Water quality – as part of our extensive groundwater monitoring program

• Weed and pest management – to ensure our operations do not transport weeds or introduce pests

• Biodiversity management – to protect native flora and fauna

• Rehabilitation – of development sites to minimise our operational footprint

• Waste management – to ensure wet and dry wastes are contained and safely disposed of.

In response to concerns from some residents in Tara, studies have also investigated whether natural gas operations in the region impacted on people’s health.

Monitoring, analysis and reports conducted and produced for the Queensland Government in 2010, 2012 and 2013 showed the natural industry in the Tara area has been operating safely. A Queensland Health report in 2013, which included data from investigations commissioned by QGC from independent experts, found no evidence of a link between natural gas activities and health concerns.

We also take very seriously any concerns re g a rd i n g wat e r q u a l i t y ra i s e d b y Tara landholders or neighbours to our infrastructure. Concerns are investigated through site appraisals and independent laboratory testing of water samples as necessary. The results of our investigations are provided to the Queensland Government. Testing conducted to date has shown no impact on water quality as a result of natural gas operations.

The Surat Basin groundwater system is one of the most intensively studied in the world. QGC alone has invested more than $120 million on groundwater research and monitoring in the region since 2011 involving analysis of 18,000 bores and wells. These extensive studies found natural gas extraction will have no significant impact on surface level springs and bores.

“A clear link cannot be drawn between the health complaints by some residents in the Tara region and impacts of the local CSG industry on air, water or soil within the community.” – Queensland Health report – Coal seam gas in the Tara region (March 2013)

More than 15 years of QGC activity has demonstrated that our industry can successfully co-exist with private homes as well as agricultural, pastoral and other industries

Environmental management

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TARA Tara Dalby Road

Kogan - Condamine Road

Leich

hard

t Hig

hway

Chinchilla South Road

WINDIBRI

KENYA

Working and living togetherQGC in the Tara region

Tara Kogan Road

WALLUMBILLA GLADSTONE PIPELINEINSET

Gladstone

Brisbane

ChinchillaRoma

Clermont

LEGEND

MAIN ROAD

WALLUMBILLA GLADSTONE PIPELINE

QGC CENTRAL PROCESSING PLANT

QGC FIELD COMPRESSION STATION

QGC WATER TREATMENT PLANT

TARA ESTATES

QGC-OWNED LAND

QGC PRODUCTION WELL

INFOGRAPHIC AREA

INFOGRAPHICTARA POSTCODE AREA

WELLS

About 600 production wells in the area where QGC is most active (this infographic)

17 wells in Tara estates, including 11 on QGC land

300-800 metres deep

SOCIAL INVESTMENT

• Almost $40m social investment across Western Downs that benefits Tara

• 593 dental appointments

• 563 general medical assessments• Access to medical specialists online

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT• Support for Tara Futures Group

• $240m spent with local businesses since 2010

• Five Tara people began traineeships and apprenticeships

• Four local people employed

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

• Tara represented on QGC regional community consultative committees

• Almost $500,000 invested in projects run by community groups and schools

• QGC investment helped increase local fire-fighting capability

• More than $26,000 sponsorships and donations

ROAD IMPROVEMENTS

• $2.4m for local roads since 2012• Sealing or gravel for nine roads

MINIMISING IMPACT• All major infrastructure on our own

land to minimise impact• QGC owns 43 properties, or

1.16%, of Tara postcode area, including 20 properties in Tara estates

WATER TREATMENT PLANT

• Recycles water produced with natural gas

• Up to 97% recycled for farms and community

• Two Central Processing Plants• Ten Field

Compression Stations• All on QGC land• Remove water; compress gas• Feed LNG plant on

Curtis Island and domestic market

GAS PROCESSING FACILITIES

TARA ESTATES• Developments of 2,000 lifestyle blocks• Much smaller than most rural properties• Most common land use is hobby farming

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Community benefitsA local representative of the Tara region is a member of our Regional Community Consultative Committee for our Central/South operations and provides advice and feedback from the region.

This includes advice on the priorities for our Social Investment Program which supports the communities in which we operate. The program focuses on three themes: investing in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education; supporting enterprise development; and enhancing regional liveability.

The Tara community benefits from programs conducted across the Western Downs region such as:

• Support for Lifeline which offered counselling assistance including tailored support for Tara residents

• Road Aware program in which over 400 students from the Tara region were among more than 20,000 educated in road safety

• Health-e-Regions telehealth program which, in 2015, was extended to improve access to medical specialists in Tara

• Busy At Work, which offered traineeships and apprenticeships for jobs outside the natural gas industry including five people from Tara

• Support for the Tara District Little Athletics Club through the Australian Drug Foundation’s Good Sports project

• Infrastructure and resource support for the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services network of volunteers.

In addition, Tara groups have received grants offered through the QGC Communities Fund, sponsorships and donations. A summary of the support provided since 2011 is shown in the table on the opposite page.

Clockwise from top left: Regional Community Consultative Committee member Patricia Peck; Tara students at a QGC-sponsored drama production in 2012; and QGC social investment recipients Tara and District Junior League Football Club,Tarcoola Retirement Village and Tara Neighbourhood Centre.

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David Gunther and Gayle Porter of Tara Futures in conversation with Kristelle Townsend of QGC

Case study: Tara FuturesQGC is supporting Tara Futures, a group that represents the interests of local business, through a partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland (CCIQ). Under the Strengthening Local Chambers Program, QGC and CCIQ are providing resources and support services to members of chambers of commerce in the Western Downs.

As part of the program, QGC worked with Social Ventures Australia, a not-for-profit specialist consultancy, to help Tara Futures identify and focus on areas for development that will sustain and grow local businesses. This led to QGC also providing sponsorship and volunteers to support the biennial Tara Festival of Culture and Camel Races, a major event hosted by Tara Futures.

Former Tara Futures Group president David Gunther said the funding enabled the festival to showcase the region to a broader audience.

“We were able to make our festival bigger and better and spread the word that this is a great little community,” Mr Gunther said. “We attracted more people to Tara, with people staying for up to a week instead of a few days. So there’s been a huge economic benefit for the town now and into the future.”

Organisation Project Funding

Murri Medical Group Tara mobile medical and dental service $1,241,258

Tara Futures Expansion of 2015 Tara Festival of Culture and Camel Races

$15,400

Development of website to promote Tara region $14,960

Tara Polocrosse Replacement of showgrounds kitchen $47,880

Tara Shire State College Stationary and uniform supplies $10,000

Hannaford Club Hall safety upgrade $46,111

Meandarra State School Swimming pool heating $24,790

Meandarra Bowls Club Renovations $11,748

Tara Pastoral, Agricultural and Horticultural Show Society Drainage and main stage upgrade $50,000

Moonie State School Provide safer playground $50,000

Inglestone Golf Club Restoration of community hall $40,551

Friends of Tarcoola Retirement Village Installation of radio service $13,022

Tara Neighbourhood Centre New community bus $50,000

Tara & District Junior League Football Club Club house renovations $50,000

Tara Shire State College Undercover area refurbishment $34,638

Friends of Tarcoola New family accommodation unit $50,000

Various sponsorships and donations under $10,000 Including $2,500 for fireworks at Tara show and $1,000 for running costs of Tara Campdraft in 2015

$26,507

Total $1,776,865

Social investment in the Tara region

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Contact Details Please contact QGC for more information. 1800 030 443 (toll-free) email: community@qgc.com.au

QGC Pty Limited 275 George Street Brisbane QLD 4000, Australia

About QGCQGC Pty Limited is a leading natural gas explorer and producer focused on supplying gas to domestic and international markets. QGC is establishing one of Australia’s largest capital infrastructure projects to turn Queensland’s world-class reserves of gas from coal seams into liquefied natural gas. QCLNG, a priority project for QGC, involves

expanding exploration and development in southern and central Queensland and transporting as through a 540km underground pipeline network to Curtis Island near Gladstone where it will be liquefied.

Further information: www.qgc.com.au

Published: October 2015

QGC has been active in the Tara region for more than 10 years, with social investment support that has benefited community events such as Tara Festival of Culture, left, and organisations including Tara Rural Fire Brigade.