1.2.1 Available coal and coal seam gas resources

Summary

The geological Gippsland Basin (Gippsland Basin) is one of the world’s major coal- and petroleum-bearing basins. The stratigraphy and structure of the onshore area and the manner of coal development have been reviewed by Smith (1982) and Gloe (1984).

Within the onshore margins of the Gippsland Basin occurs the largest Australian accumulation of Cenozoic brown coal, where the total in situ reserves of over 100 billion tonnes have been defined by extensive drilling (Gloe, 1975).

The Gippsland Basin also contains a significant black coal resource of which approximately 22 million tonnes (Mt) has been mined, with 17 Mt from the State Coal Mine at Wonthaggi. An estimated 9.5 Mt remains spread across eight black coalfields.

There is no history of coal seam gas (CSG) production in the Gippsland Basin bioregion but there is a relatively short history of CSG exploration. With only limited historical CSG exploration and associated data it is not possible to make an informed statement about the CSG potential of the Gippsland Basin.

There is currently a moratorium on CSG exploration in Victoria, in place since August 2012.