Toowoomba region set to reap economic benefits from Australian ‘first’

Published on 13/09/2010

The Toowoomba regional economy will benefit significantly by being at the forefront of a brand new

industry in Australia, according to Ambre Energy Director, Michael van Baarle.

Mr van Baarle is a spokesperson for ambreCTL, Australia’s first coal?to?liquids facility planned for the

Felton area.

He said projections indicated that direct and indirect flowon benefits to the Darling Downs economy

from the $3.5 billion project were in the order of $20 billion (over the period 2010?2040).

Ambre CTL Limited, a subsidiary of Ambre Energy, released an Initial Advice Statement (IAS) for the

proposed coal?to?liquids project last month. The project expects to create up to 1,880 jobs during a

two?year construction phase, with some 530 permanent jobs required once the plant becomes

operational.

Project team representatives are meeting with local government and business representatives to

provide details of the proposal, plus the associated benefits. These include:

? Local: Direct benefits to the Toowoomba region will flow on in the form of employment

(during both construction and production phases), locally sourced contract services

(including mining, engineering and management, machinery and cement) and locally

sourced equipment. Indirect benefits will be felt by accommodation operators, retailers, the

local hospitality industry, service providers etc.

? State: ambreCTL plans to meet more than 20 percent of Queensland’s demand for unleaded

petrol and LPG by 2014. It will also meet a demand for cleaner use of Queensland coal.

? National: The project will reduce reliance on imported crude oil and fuel, providing greater

fuel security for Australia.

Ambre Energy has access to commercially?proven ExxonMobil technology that will enable it to

produce 940 million litres of high quality unleaded petrol and 150 million litres of LPG from Felton

coal each year for the next 35 to 40 years.

The ambreCTL project involves a fuel production facility and an adjoining open cut coal mine. Coal

from the mine will undergo a gasification process to produce a synthesis gas (or syngas) for

conversion to methanol. Methanol will then be converted to high quality unleaded petrol and LPG

using the proven technology. This gasification process is not the same as that used around Kingaroy

currently.

Project status

? In August, an Initial Advice Statement (IAS) for the project was made publicly available. The

IAS details the nature and scope of the project, and is available at www.ambreenergy.com.

The IAS will assist the Queensland Government to prepare draft Terms of Reference for the

project Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which will initiate comprehensive

stakeholder consultation and rigorous assessment of any social and environmental impacts.

? The Queensland Government is determining if the project is eligible to be declared as a

‘significant project’ under the State Development and Public Works Organisations Act 1971.

As a ‘significant project’, the proposal would also be required to meet commonwealth

requirements as specified by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act

1999.

? Ongoing discussions are being held with landholders in the Felton area. Private briefings are

being held with government and business representatives in Toowoomba ahead of public

information sessions planned for early October.

? Discussions are ongoing with state representatives to determine if any part of the project

site will be impacted by the government’s yet?to?be finalised strategic cropping land policy.

In recent months, the project footprint has been reduced from 2,800ha to 2,000ha as the

scope of the project has been defined. Current assessments indicate that only a small

percentage of the site may be affected by the proposed strategic cropping policy, and this is

in an area where disturbance will be minimal.

Mr van Baarle said the project team was committed to developing a process for the cleaner use of

Queensland’s coal reserves. He said this goal would not be pursued at the expense of

environmentally responsible project management.

“We are very conscious of the need to minimise project impacts and maximise its benefits,” Mr van

Baarle said. “We will work with local communities to identify and address issues of concern,

progressively rehabilitate the several hundred hectares that will be affected at any one time, and

ensure that any identified areas of the site are not permanently alienated from future cropping.”

If approved, project construction could start late in 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Neil McGregor 0412 970 320

Background information is available from Ambre Energy’s website: www.ambreenergy.com

The Toowoomba regional economy will benefit significantly by being at the forefront of a brand new industry in Australia, according to Ambre Energy Director, Michael van Baarle.

Mr van Baarle is a spokesperson for ambreCTL, Australia’s first coal-to-liquids facility planned for the Felton area near Pittsworth.

He said projections indicated that direct and indirect flowon benefits to the Darling Downs economy from the $3.5 billion project were in the order of $20 billion (over the period 2010-2040).

Ambre CTL Limited, a subsidiary of Ambre Energy, released an Initial Advice Statement (IAS) for the proposed coal-to-liquids project last month. The project expects to create up to 1,880 jobs during a two year construction phase, with some 530 permanent jobs required once the plant becomes operational.

Project team representatives are meeting with local government and business representatives to provide details of the proposal, plus the associated benefits. These include:

Local: Direct benefits to the Toowoomba region will flow on in the form of employment (during both construction and production phases), locally sourced contract services (including mining, engineering and management, machinery and cement) and locally sourced equipment. Indirect benefits will be felt by accommodation operators, retailers, the local hospitality industry, service providers etc.
State: ambreCTL plans to meet more than 20 percent of Queensland’s demand for unleaded petrol and LPG by 2014. It will also meet a demand for cleaner use of Queensland coal.
National: The project will reduce reliance on imported crude oil and fuel, providing greater fuel security for Australia and having a significant positive effect on its balance of payments.

Ambre Energy has access to commercially-proven ExxonMobil technology that will enable it to produce 940 million litres of high quality unleaded petrol and 150 million litres of LPG from local coal each year for the next 35 to 40 years.

The ambreCTL project involves a fuel production facility and an adjoining open cut coal mine. Coal from the mine will be gasified in the high-tech facility to produce a synthesis gas (or syngas) for conversion to methanol. Methanol will then be converted to high quality unleaded petrol and LPG using the proven technology. This process is different from the extraction of methane gas from coal seams, as is common in the Surat Basin, or gasifying coal underground, which has been the subject of some controversy recently around Kingaroy.

Project status

In August, an Initial Advice Statement (IAS) for the project was made publicly available. The IAS details the nature and scope of the project, and is available at www.ambreenergy.com. The IAS will assist the Queensland Government to prepare draft Terms of Reference for the project Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which will initiate comprehensive stakeholder consultation and rigorous assessment of any social and environmental impacts.
The Queensland Government is determining if the project is eligible to be declared as a ‘significant project’ under the State Development and Public Works Organisations Act 1971. As a ‘significant project’, the proposal would also be required to meet commonwealth requirements as specified by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Ongoing discussions are being held with landholders in the Felton area. Private briefings are being held with government and business representatives in Toowoomba ahead of public information sessions planned for early October.
Discussions are ongoing with state representatives to determine if any part of the project site will be impacted by the government’s yet-to-be finalised strategic cropping land policy. In recent months, the project footprint has been reduced from 2,800ha to 2,000ha as the scope of the project has been defined. Current assessments indicate that only a small percentage of the site may be affected by the proposed strategic cropping policy, and this is in an area where disturbance will be minimal.

Mr van Baarle said the project team was committed to developing a process for the cleaner use of Queensland’s coal reserves and adding value to local resources. He said this goal would not be pursued at the expense of environmentally responsible project management.

“We are very conscious of the need to minimise project impacts and maximise its benefits,” Mr van Baarle said. “We will work with local communities to identify and address issues of concern, progressively rehabilitate the several hundred hectares that will be affected at any one time, and ensure that any identified areas of the site are not permanently alienated from future cropping.”

If approved, project construction could start late in 2011.

ENDS

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Neil McGregor 0412 970 320

Background information is available from Ambre Energy’s website: www.ambreenergy.com

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