Who's lying?
Date: 13-Aug-08
Author: Peter Firminger
A Sydney Gas update hand delivered the night before the WAGE meeting at Laguna is either calling me or Mark Harper a liar. [See a PDF scan of this document at the end]
It states "We have heard figures quoted that there is a 50 percent chance that we will find suitable gas reserves fpr production in Wollombi. It is highly unlikely that we will find a suitable gas field in this area."
However, I accurately minuted the following question and answer at the Chamber of Commerce meeting:
Peter Hamshere: What is the percentage of chance of success?
Mark Harper: Hard to say. How do I feel about it? People ask me "Should I buy shares?" I have no feeling. Less than 50%.
Not "less than 40%" or any other figure, "less than 50%" We quote that sentence quite accurately, coming from the General Manager in a Public Information Meeting in answer to a direct question.
All of a sudden the answer has changed to "highly unlikely"...
Speaking to NBN on Saturday, Harper said "Everybody seems to be suddenly leaping to the conclusion that we'll have a huge production field here. I, I wish, um, that were the case, that'd be really good, but I don't think that's very likely."
The Gas Update also completely fictionally states the following:
Mark Harper, general manager for Sydney Gas was asked at the Wollombi Valley Chamber of Commerce meeting that if Wollombi was hypothetically a gas field, how many wells could be present? His answer was strictly couched in the parameters that this was purely speculative and that we did not want to infer that there would be gas production in Wollombi, but was happy to describe a large scale gas field. The figure of 300 wells he explained was a standard figure discussed for a gas field; which is now less with new drilling technology. While he emphasised that any gas plant in the Hunter would be in an existing industrial area and that we had no expectations for production in Wollombi, this is not the way it has been portrayed.
Because it never happened!
The question and answer relating to the number of wells was this one:
Sean Gough: What stage are you at in Camden and is it planned that you will drill more wells and, if so, how many?
Mark Harper: Looking to expand. How many depends on what is found. Probably double - 200-300 possible. I am speculating. 200 is a standard answer for the number of well-heads.
At no time did Mark Harper say anything like "any gas plant in the Hunter would be in an existing industrial area and that we had no expectations for production in Wollombi" nor did he mention the "new drilling technology".
In the Herald Article by Frances Thompson (I beleive there is more text in the later printed version though I don't have a copy to refer to) there was also mention of the reference to the size of a "Compressor Station". Here is the direct (and absolutely accurate) quote from Harper at the Chamber meeting:
Related DocumentsPhillipa Heslop [I think]: How big is the [compressor] station?
Mark Harper: Think about the size of Wollombi Village. About ½ Dozen football fields. It doesn't need to be close by.
- Sydney Gas Update 8 August 2008 (617kb pdf file)
An update delivered by hand to Wollombi General Store the night before the Laguna WAGE Meeting.
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