At APA’s annual general meeting last week 12.35% of shareholders voted in favour of a resolution calling on APA to disclose:
- how it plans to manage emissions from new gas infrastructure, including potential Beetaloo basin pipelines, and
- how they are compatible with APA’s climate goals.
Prior to the AGM UniSuper ditched around 50% of its shares in APA (5% of total APA shares) after more than 1000 climate scientists and other academics pushed the fund not to enable fracking in the Northern Territory. This caused APA’s share price to drop by 6% which was raised at the annual general meeting – as was the fact that APA’s share price is trading at a ten-year low.
APA is planning to build the pipeline that would enable American companies Empire and Tamboran to undergo dangerous gas fracking in the Northern Territory. Fracking has been banned in Victoria and Tasmania already due to issues with water and agricultural land and the risk to human health.
When asked about reputational risks to the company given fracking is banned in Victoria and Tasmania, Chair Michael Fraser said APA was concerned about its reputation. However, he also spoke about the need for natural gas in the energy transition and claimed Empire and Tamboran had gone through a rigorous process to get landholder agreements.
Currently 80% of all Australian gas is shipped overseas as Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). Based on Empire and Tamboran’s initial forecasts Empire could be exporting more than 80% of its gas overseas, whilst Tamboran could export more than 66% by 2030. Traditional Owners and landholders are staunchly against Empire and Tamboran’s fracking plans.
Samuel Janama Sandy, chair of Nurrdalinji Aboriginal Corporation has said:
“We don’t want APA playing our pipelines. If they do, they’re helping gas companies frack and destroy our land and water. Climate change is already here in the Territory. Solar, not gas, is needed, so we can power our communities with the sun.”
A shareholder emphasised that multiple reports have highlighted environmental and cultural heritage breaches by Empire Energy and Tamboran. Empire failed to inform the heritage regulator about Aboriginal stone tools found near a well, which were subsequently moved. And Tamboran instructed contractors to spray contaminated drill rig water at well sites.
Fraser admitted at APA’s annual general meeting that he was not aware that Empire Energy and Tamboran committed environmental and cultural heritage breaches.
Fraser emphasised the need for the fracking companies to get approvals. This follows news reports of leaked documents showing the Northern Territory chief minister, Lia Finocchiaro, plans to introduce new powers to exempt new gas projects from environmental assessments.
Kate Wiley, executive director of Doctors for the Environment, Melissa Haswell, a professor working in public health, and Peggy Smith, a registered nurse, spoke about the health impacts of fracking and climate change.
Fraser claimed that Alan Finkle, the former chief scientist, has said the evidence wasn’t there that fracking was dangerous. Finkle made these comments in 2015 – two years before fracking was banned in Victoria. Professor Melissa Haswell is the lead author of a report of over 2,000 peer reviewed publications, and she emphasised most of the studies she compiled were from 2000-2024. This is years after Finkle made his statement on fracking. The reports found that the health impacts of fracking included 7,800 deaths, severe asthma, higher hospitalisation and death rates from heart attacks, heart failure, respiratory disease and cancers. The studies came from renowned universities such as Harvard and Yale.
With Empire Energy looking to run its full field development until 2070, emissions pose significant long-term climate and cost risks for APA. Market Forces has estimated that the Beetaloo developments could enable 1.1 billion tonnes of CO2-e in end-user emissions over the projects’ lifetimes. This is comparable to the combined end-user emissions from all four projects currently under construction by Australia’s largest oil and gas companies, Woodside and Santos.
A shareholder asked whether APA would consider setting specific end-user emissions reduction targets and followed up to ask whether APA would set any targets for end-user emissions. Frased expressed ‘we don’t sell gas’ and that APA won’t be setting targets for the end-user emissions because it is ‘way out of our control.’
Whether APA decides to partner with Empire and Tamboran to open up the Beetaloo basin is within the company’s control. More than 17,000 people signed on to an open letter calling on APA not to enable dangerous fracking in the Northern Territory. The CEO of APA, Adam Watson accepted the letter after the annual general meeting.
APA needs to understand that people across Australia will hold the company to account if it enables fracking – whether APA thinks it is in their control or not.
Take action
Tell APA to rule out enabling fracking in the Beetaloo Basin!