Demand the NT Government stop Origin's reckless fracking plans

Origin Energy has been one of the biggest players in the fracking industry for decades. They already have a few "exploratory" fracking wells in the NT.

Now, they've lodged an Environment Management Plan (EMP) to the NT Government as part of their application to drill and frack a whopping twelve new "exploration" wells on the Amungee Mungee pastoral station 50 km east of Daly Waters.

Twelve new fracking wells in itself would be bad enough, because any fracking is a risk to country, water, and climate. But when you dig deeper into their EMP, it's even worse…

• They want to fast track disastrous gas production without the right license: "Exploratory" means they aren't fracking for profit, but testing to see how much gas they might be able to pump out of the ground using disastrous fracking processes. Once they confirm there's gas there (and have all their government approvals), that's when they start the approval process for "production licenses", where they can then sell the gas.
  
  But they're planning to sell the gas from this proposal – even though they don't have a production license to do so. And once Origin moves from exploration phase to production phase, the scale of the damage is exponential.


• They haven't accounted for or addressed the full climate impacts: Origin are claiming that by selling gas, they will reduce emissions. This is not true – in fact, under this plan, Origin would keep the wells open for over five times longer than they actually need for testing, creating a massive carbon footprint of over 2 million tonnes of emissions.
  
  Most of these emissions would be 'scope 3' rather than 'scope 1', meaning Origin can make them someone else's problem. The scope 1 emissions alone are 535,651 tonnes, equivalent to 1.5 times the annual GHG emissions of the town of Mparntwe/Alice Springs.


• They want huge amounts of precious water: Origin will need 430 million litres of water to drill and frack the twelve wells in their proposal. They want to take that water from the Gum Ridge Formation, which is equivalent to 172 Olympic swimming pools of water.
  
  They will also produce 90 million litres of wastewater which they are planning to truck interstate.


• They haven't implemented all the recommendations from the crucial Pepper Inquiry: Back in 2018, Traditional Owners gave evidence in the Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturing in the Northern Territory, known as the Pepper Inquiry. It resulted in 135 recommendations to mitigate the environmental, social, cultural and economic risks associated with fracking. The NT's then moratorium on fracking was lifted on the condition that all 135 recommendations would be implemented.¹

But right now, Origin wants to go ahead with fracking without all recommendations implemented.
For example:

• Origin wants to sell this gas without the right permissions and licenses, particularly without a complete scientific baseline assessment of the region (SREBA);
• In May this year, Origin's exploration and appraisal manager, Alexander Côté, admitted they have no plan to manage toxic wastewater.² Now, they're saying they want to truck their wastewater interstate, but also have no plans to manage wastewater that would contaminate the water supplies that First Nations communities rely on.
• 535,651 tonnes of direct, scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions would be released under Origin's proposal. This is equivalent to 1.5 times the annual GHG emissions of the town of Alice Springs.³ This doesn't even include scope 3 emissions.

And more importantly, Traditional Owners do not want Origin fracking on their land because of the risks to water, country, and cultural heritage.

If the NT Government approves Origin's EMP, it would not only be paving the way for Origin to frack and destroy country, water, and our climate, but it would be setting a horrifying precedent for other fracking corporations like Empire Energy and Tamboran to do exactly the same, all while undermining the integrity of our regulatory system.

That's why it's so important that we all rally together behind Traditional Owners and lodge submissions today – are you in?

The most important thing in writing a good submission is making it unique and personal. Often, if committees or government departments notice a lot of similar submissions, they'll group them together as one rather than consider them for what they are – thousands of people who will do whatever it takes to unite behind Traditional Owners in their fight against fracking corporations like Origin.

So while you should definitely use the information on this page to get up to speed with Origin's current plans and why Traditional Owners are so staunchly defending their counrty from them, do take the time to write your own submission in your own words.

Here are some tips:

• Start by introducing yourself, where you're from and what your writing a submission about.
• Then dive into why you're writing your submission. In doing so, think about what makes you most riled up about Origin's plans and what a better plan for the future could look like.
• Feel free to use some of the facts included on this page, but remember to do so in your own words.
• Always be polite, but passionate.
• Finish by confirming you're asking the Department to reject Origin's EMP.

Thank you for taking the time to unite behind Traditional Owners time and time again. Together, we will put an end fracking and chart a fairer future.

Best of luck in writing your submission!

Submissions are how government bodies hear and seek comment from the public. Anyone may lodge a submission, and there are no rules about exactly what to say, or how to say it. All that matters is that you write it in your own words using our guide in the drop down above, demanding the Department reject Origin's proposal, and hit send using this page before Monday 15th August.

The submission will be received by the Northern Territory's Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security. We will also compile all your submissions and send them directly to the Northern Territory's Environment Minister, Lauren Moss, as it's crucial she hears directly from you as well.

The Department will review all submissions as part of their preliminary assessment of Origin's Environmental Management Plan for these new fracking drills. That will be sent to the NT Environment Protection Authority, who will then make a recommendation to the Environment Minister, Lauren Moss. It's then up to her to approve or reject it based on the public comment process, and whether Origin has demonstrated "that all environmental impacts and risks associated with the activity are reduced to a level that is as low as reasonable practical and acceptable". ⁴

That's why it is so crucial we ensure not only all the information relevant is included in our submissions, but that the NT Goverment is shown there is overwhelming public opposition to Origin's fracking plans.

Read more about Origin's EMP and the submission process here