Water plant shows benefits of resources sector

QGC’s Kenya Water Treatment Plant near Chinchilla will help to drought proof agricultural producers, providing an example of how the resources sector is delivering wider benefits to Queensland communities.

Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jeff Seeney officially inaugurated the plant in the gas fields west of Brisbane today.

Mr Seeney congratulated QGC on its investment of around $1 billion on water infrastructure in the Surat Basin.

“Projects such as this are not only important for the local farmers and communities, but for the sustainability of the region,” Mr Seeney said.

“The output of this plant will ensure that a considerable number of agricultural producers are effectively drought free.”

“It shows that CSG water is a valuable resource, not the waste product always portrayed by the previous Labor Government.

“I have always acknowledged CSG water as a valuable by-product, not a problem, and that is the difference with the Newman Government,” Mr Seeney said.

The Kenya plant will purify water collected as a by-product of gas production and deliver it to local farmers, irrigators and communities.

It is one of two major water facilities QGC will build as part of its gas production operations in Surat Basin.

A second plant is currently under construction at Woleebee Creek near Wandoan.

Mr Seeney said the CSG industry was injecting billions of dollars into the Queensland economy and providing tens of thousands of new jobs.

“The resources sector is critical to continued prosperity and this plant shows that there are significant additional benefits for Queenslanders from resource development,” he said.

“Resource companies are spending significant funding on community facilities across the state.”

[ENDS] 23 October 2013

Media Contact: John Wiseman – 0409 791 281