Underground Water Impact Report for the Surat Cumulative Management Area 2016
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Department of Natural Resources and Mines Office of Groundwater Impact Assessment Underground Water Impact Report for the Surat Cumulative Management Area 2016 This publication has been compiled by The Office of Groundwater Impact Assessment, Department of Natural Resources and Mines. © State of Queensland, 2016 The Queensland Government supports and encourages the dissemination and exchange of its information. The copyright in this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY) licence. Under this licence you are free, without having to seek our permission, to use this publication in accordance with the licence terms. You must keep intact the copyright notice and attribute the State of Queensland as the source of the publication. Note: Some content in this publication may have different licence terms as indicated. For more information on this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The Queensland Government shall not be liable for technical or other errors or omissions contained herein. The reader/user accepts all risks and responsibility for losses, damages, costs and other consequences resulting directly or indirectly from using this information. Contents Tables...................................................................................................................................................... v Figures .................................................................................................................................................... v Appendices .......................................................................................................................................... vii Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................................ ix Summary ............................................................................................................................................... xi Context for this report .............................................................................................................................. xi Current groundwater extraction ............................................................................................................... xi Predicted water level impacts ................................................................................................................. xii Long–term Affected Areas ............................................................................................................. xii Immediately Affected Areas .......................................................................................................... xiii Water Monitoring Strategy ..................................................................................................................... xiv Spring Impact Management Strategy .................................................................................................... xiv Responsible tenure holders ................................................................................................................... xiv Reporting and review .............................................................................................................................. xv 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Water rights of petroleum tenure holders ....................................................................................... 1 1.2 Managing the cumulative impacts of adjacent CSG wells .............................................................. 1 1.3 The Surat Underground Water Impact Report ................................................................................ 3 2 Petroleum and gas production .................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Petroleum and gas production and methods .................................................................................. 4 2.1.1 Conventional petroleum and gas ................................................................................... 4 2.1.2 Coal seam gas ............................................................................................................... 5 2.2 Types of tenures and authorities .................................................................................................... 7 2.2.1 Petroleum tenures ......................................................................................................... 7 2.2.2 Environmental authorities .............................................................................................. 8 2.2.3 Water monitoring authorities .......................................................................................... 8 2.3 Petroleum tenures in the Surat CMA .............................................................................................. 8 2.4 Production areas in the Surat CMA ................................................................................................ 9 2.4.1 Existing coal seam gas production areas .................................................................... 14 2.4.2 Planned coal seam gas production areas ................................................................... 15 2.4.3 Conventional petroleum and gas production areas ..................................................... 16 2.5 Non-petroleum and gas resource activities in the Surat CMA ...................................................... 17 3 Regional landscape and geology .............................................................................................. 19 3.1 Landscape..................................................................................................................................... 19 3.1.1 Topography .................................................................................................................. 19 3.1.2 Surface drainage ......................................................................................................... 19 Underground Water Impact Report for the Surat Cumulative Management Area, Department of Natural Resources and Mines, September 2016 i 3.1.3 Climate ......................................................................................................................... 20 3.1.4 Land use ...................................................................................................................... 20 3.2 Geology ......................................................................................................................................... 22 3.2.1 The Bowen Basin......................................................................................................... 22 3.2.2 The Surat Basin ........................................................................................................... 23 3.2.3 The Clarence-Moreton Basin ....................................................................................... 24 3.2.4 Cenozoic formations .................................................................................................... 24 3.3 Developing the geological model .................................................................................................. 28 3.3.1 Modelling the Condamine Alluvium ............................................................................. 28 3.3.2 Modelling the Main Range Volcanics .......................................................................... 29 3.3.3 Modelling the Surat and Bowen Basin units ................................................................ 29 4 The hydrogeology of the Surat CMA......................................................................................... 33 4.1 The basic concept of groundwater flow ........................................................................................ 33 4.2 Groundwater systems in the Surat CMA ...................................................................................... 34 4.2.1 The Great Artesian Basin ............................................................................................ 34 4.2.2 The Bowen Basin......................................................................................................... 35 4.2.3 Alluvial systems ........................................................................................................... 36 4.2.4 Basalts ......................................................................................................................... 37 4.3 Hydrogeology of the coal sequences ............................................................................................ 40 4.3.1 The Walloon Coal Measures ....................................................................................... 40 4.3.2 The Bandanna Formation ............................................................................................ 42 4.3.3 The Cattle Creek Formation ........................................................................................ 42 4.4 Connectivity................................................................................................................................... 43 4.4.1 The Walloon Coal Measures and the Condamine Alluvium ........................................ 43 4.4.2 The Walloon Coal Measures and the aquifers of the GAB ........................................