Working on the land
Matthew Paull A E , Natasha Patterson B , Anthea Patch C and Kelli How DA APPEA, Level 36, Turbot Street, Brisbane, Qld 4000, Australia.
B Origin Energy, 339 Coronation Drive, Milton, Qld 4064, Australia.
C Arrow Energy, 39/111 Eagle Street, Brisbane City, Qld 4000, Australia.
D QGC, 275 George Street, Brisbane City, Qld 4000, Australia.
E Corresponding author. Email: mpaull@appea.com.au
The APPEA Journal 58(2) 582-585 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ18002
Accepted: 5 March 2018 Published: 28 May 2018
Abstract
A defining characteristic of Queensland’s natural gas industry is that upstream operations are located in a region with a strong and diverse agricultural industry.
The gas resource lies beneath this farming land and the industry has had to overcome the challenge of covering huge distances to maintain thousands of gas wells and associated infrastructure – all while trying to reduce disruption on thousands of predominantly family-owned properties. Earning the trust and respect of landholders has, therefore, been essential to the success of the industry.
Mistakes were made by the industry in the early days, but attitudes on both sides have since changed and evolved. There has been a move towards coexistence, respect and consent as the foundation for a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship. Along the way, the industry approach to land access has changed significantly over time. There are now many shining examples of best practice and innovation in the industry and a willingness to share solutions.
This paper details the legal underpinning of Queensland’s land access process, the history of the industry in Queensland’s Darling Downs region, key lessons learned by the industry, and some of the innovations and new approaches developed by the land access professionals in the industry.
Keywords: conduct and compensation agreement, gas industry, land access agreement, landholder, Queensland.
Matthew Paull, Policy Director – Queensland. Matt is APPEA’s Queensland Policy Director and previously worked in the Australian Government on resources and energy policy. Matt has broad responsibilities at APPEA and takes the lead in Queensland on a range of issues including land access, environment, water, financial assurance, and resource management. |
Natasha Patterson, Origin Energy. Natasha is an experienced leader in the private and public sectors. Leveraging deep expertise in environmental law and regulation, she initially joined Origin in 2010 to lead the in-house legal team and enable the delivery of the $25B Australia Pacific LNG Phase 1 Project. From 2015, Natasha took on accountability for securing access to resources to support the ongoing development of APLNG’s coal seam gas resources. Through creating a vision and systematically focusing on people and business discipline, her team developed an effective access strategy and delivery model enabling Origin to reliably secure regulatory approvals and access to land. The team secured access to more than 1000 wells in 2 years; effectively de-risking the capital program. Natasha attributes successful delivery to being anchored in business ethics, listening to all stakeholders, and finding solutions with mutual benefit. |
Anthea Patch, General Manager Site Access, Arrow Energy. Anthea joined Arrow Energy in 2011 from Santos where she was a Senior Land Access Advisor. Anthea is currently the Access and Approvals Manager at Arrow and is responsible for ensuring Arrow maintains safe and compliant access to land across Arrow’s operational and project areas. These access obligations relate to landholders, cultural heritage and native title, environmental and regulatory approvals and interface with existing infrastructure on the land such as utility providers. Anthea joined the Queensland CSG industry in 2007 after working with AgForce Queensland in Roma and for the then Senator Joyce in his St George electorate office. |
Kelli How, Manager Access, QGC. Kelli began her career as a lawyer, graduating from QUT with Honours in 2005. After graduating, Kelli worked in private practice as a resources lawyer in a top tier firm supporting clients from various mining and gas projects throughout Australia. Kelli joined QGC/BG Group (subsequently purchased by Shell) in December 2011 as a lawyer in the QGC legal team with a focus on land, environmental, safety and operational/regulatory compliance. Kelli is currently part of the extended leadership team at QGC in the role of Manager Access, leading a large team of land access negotiators, permits and tenures advisors, surveyors, asset engineers, groundwater and P&A advisors and geomatics experts located across Brisbane, Chinchilla and Wandoan. Kelli has over 13 years’ experience working with a variety of stakeholders including lawyers, landholders, joint venture partners, industry bodies and various government departments and regulators. She is a passionate advocate of providing opportunities for the development and mentoring of more junior female staff to create a greater opportunities for gender diverse successors in leadership roles. |
