Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Adani's Galilee Basin Projects - The Facts


So who is Adani?

 

Adani is a globally integrated infrastructure and energy business covering ports and logistics, power generation, including cleaner thermal and renewable energy generation, power transmission & agribusiness as well as resources, spanning India, Asia and now Australia.

Adani's Carmichael mine remains public enemy No.1 for environmental groups who are using the "Battle for the Galilee" as their strategy to end any new coal mines in Australia.  Their plans were laid out in full detail in a leaked document orchestrated by Greenpeace Australia.  Below is a link to this document.

Stopping the Australian Coal Export Boom


After eight years of delays and uncertainty , Adani Australia's chief executive Jeyakumar Janakaraj – known in the industry as "JJ" – late last year set a March 31 deadline for the company to find the remaining funds for the $6.7 billion first stage of the mega-mine, which would be one of the largest open-cut coal mines in Australia.

Since Janakaraj announced the March deadline – to coincide with the end of the Indian financial year – the company has been hit with a number of setbacks on the project.  These setbacks are ofcourse all because of the environmental groups using continual delaying tactics which were stated quite clearly in the above Greenpeace document.

 

The Journey So Far.......

Adani entered the Australian market in 2010, with the intent to open Queensland’s Galilee Basin, unlocking the coal resources within it. 

A unique aspect of the mine’s development is the ‘pit-to-plug’ strategy, insulating the coal from fluctuations in the global market, as well as capitalising on Adani’s infrastructure strengths and capabilities to build a multi-user rail line to the site. 

Since then, Adani has expanded its investment into Australia with the acquisition of the Abbot Point Coal Terminal in 2011, the purchase of the Abbot Point BulkCoal Operating business in 2016 and the entry of the Adani Renewables business in 2016 with a focus on large-scale renewable energy projects. 

 

Timeline


Mar 2018 - Adani misses coal deadline to start shipping thermal coal -  The company now expects first production to be delayed by up to a year.

And, you may ask, why more delays. Once again, please refer to the Greenpeace document above. It is all clearly stated in there how the environmentalists would delay this project.  For more information on the War on Coal, please read our Facebook post - link below.

War on Coal

There is a lot of misinformation and disinformation spread worldwide about this project. Mainly by Environmental groups and their followers.

Below are myths and the facts that corrects some of the misinformation , disinformation spread about the project.

MYTH
Shipping the coal from North Queensland will put the reef in danger from spills and other forms of damage.

FACT
Every ship travelling through the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority area is under strict guidelines and must be operated by highly experienced Australian pilots. This was introduced in 1991 to significantly reduce the risk of collisions and groundings. This will be the same for any ships travelling on their way through the reef waters.
Source: GBRMPA


MYTH
The government has bent over backwards and removed regulations to get this project over the line.

FACT
Adani has spent many years working to get the Carmichael mine project underway by meeting government regulations. It has already spent $3.3 billion to get to this stage and over $100 million in court costs to date. Since the start of 2015, 22 key Commonwealth, State and local government approvals have been granted for Adani’s mine, rail and port facilities and there have been 29 key milestones reached.
Source. State Government. 


MTYH
Adani cannot be trusted with their environmental responsibilities

FACT
There are about 200 rigorous environmental controls imposed on this project as part of its approval process. Failure to meet these would mean immediate consequences from the State or Federal Government that would jeopardise the project.
Source: State Development Minister Dr Anthony Lynham 


MYTH
Jobs will not be created for Australians or regional Queenslanders.


FACT
Adani has given a written pledge that it will not use 457 Visa holders for any construction or operational jobs.

Source: Adani Group

MYTH
The mine will drain from the water table damaging the environment and farmers.

FACT
Adani has been granted a water licence that will directly address this issue. Similar objections were raised in the Land Court and were cleared. Adani claim that not one directly affected land holder raised any objection in the Land Court.
Source: State Government/ Adani/ Land Court 


MYTH
The economic case does not stack up for the mine

FACT
Adani is an infrastructure company, owning and running the ports, power plants and even the wires which provide power to homes. Given the company knows its own demand requirements the Australian mine will fit into this vertical structure from the ground to the grid. It has also invested $3.3 billion into the project and fought multiple legal battles instead of pursuing similar projects in other countries.
Source: Adani


MYTH
Dredged spoil will damage the Great Barrier Reef

FACT
Adani has reached an agreement with the State Government that spoil will be placed onshore in an area approved by environmental authorities. The company owns and operates the Abbot Point bulk coal loading facility and wants to expand this with a once-off dredging operation because the port is not affected by river run off and silting. This has been approved on stringent conditions the spoil will not touch the reef.
Source: State Government 


MYTH
This project will significantly worsen climate change by contributing to emissions levels around the world.

FACT
Both Australia and India are signatories to the Paris Agreement on climate change and thus have agreed they must meet their required targets for greenhouse gas production. Adani believes use of Queensland coal will in fact assist in this goal because Australian coal is 1.5 times more efficient than coal available in India or Indonesia.
Source: Paris Agreement/ Adani


MYTH
Thousands of tourist jobs are in danger compared to the limited impact the struggling mining industry has on the local economy.

FACT
The Carmichael Mine must obey stringent environmental conditions, ships must be steered by an experienced pilot and India has agreed to reduce its greenhouse emissions in the Paris Agreement. The Great Barrier Reef is understood to support 70,000 jobs both direct and indirectly. The coal industry in Queensland alone is understood to have directly supported 19,072 fulltime employees in 2015-16 with local spending supporting 164,482 indirect jobs.
Source: Queensland Resources Council, State Government