What's At Risk?
The Swan Valley is WA's oldest wine growing region, located just 25 minutes from Perth. The Swan Valley is home to an ever-growing list of restaurants and cafes, wineries, breweries and artisan wares. It is packed with fresh seasonal produce, with countless restaurants and cafes offering everything from fine dining to salt-of-the-earth pub grub to traditional high tea. It also includes the key places Bullsbrook, The Vines and Ellenbrook.
Just one hour from Perth, the Chittering Valley is home to the quaint townships of Bindoon, Muchea and Wannamal, the Chittering Valley offers untouched bushland and wetlands, vineyards, orchards, spectacular wildflowers and stunning scenery. Nestled in the northern hills of the Darling Range you'll find the Chittering Valley rich in food, wine, scenery and art.
Gas Permits and Prospects
Unconventional fracking gasfields are proposed for areas of the Perth Basin, a geological formation that runs 1,300km along the west coast from Geraldton to Augusta. Part of the Perth Basin underlies the Perth metropolitan area.
There are currently two main companies with exploration permits covering a large part of the region, including a large part of the City of Swan and Shire of Chittering.
Swan Valley, Chittering, Bindoon, Moora to Enneabba
Exploration Permit 494: Southern Sky Energy (50%) with Macallum Group (50%)
From Macallum’s website: “Past production has been from conventional reservoirs, with tight gas (Warro), and shale gas being considered for future production.”
West of Bullsbrook and Muchea, over Gingin to Regans Ford
EP 389: Empire Oil & Gas (with ERM Gas 21.25% and Wharf Resources 10%).
In 2013, Empire Oil & Gas stated publicly in the "Australian Oil and Gas Review" that they intend to do unconventional gas production in this permit area.
There is already conventional gas flowing from wells at Gingin, and a Gas and Condensate Onshore Processing Facility, shipped in from Texas, already is present there. The company stated in 2016: "We are in a desirable position in the Perth Basin having the opportunity to potentially explore the unconventional prospectivity of the onshore prospects. The Red Gully Facility would certainly make a substantial difference to the economics of recovering gas nearby.”