Buru Energy Allowed to Pursue Tight Gas Project in Western Australia

Government of Western Australia (WA) has allowed Buru Energy to pursue its tight gas project in Kimberley region without an Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) assessment.

Buru said Tuesday that WA Environment Minister Albert Jacob has upheld the Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) determination in regard to the company’s tight gas testing proposal.

“In dismissing the appeals against the EPA decision, the Minister said the EPA had concluded that Buru’s “small scale, limited duration ‘proof of concept’ exploration proposal is unlikely to have a significant effect on the environment”,” Buru said in a statement.

According to Buru, the Minister understood that the EPA considered that the proposal would be further evaluated, regulated and mitigated by the Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) and Department of Water to meet the EPA’s objectives for the environmental factors identified for the proposal.

Buru now awaits the outcome of the assessment of the Environment and Operational Plans for the program, known as the Laurel Formation Tight Gas Pilot Exploration Program, currently being undertaken by the DMP.

In addition to the formal approvals process, the company said it has undertaken an extensive community engagement program, which will be ongoing and will ensure the regional community continues to be fully engaged with the project participants.

Buru Energy is at an early exploratory stage of evaluation of a large tight gas resource in the Canning Basin.