By Helen Clark
PERTH, Jan 20 (Reuters) – A controversial fracking plan in Western Australia’s remote and ecologically delicate Kimberley region was approved by the state’s environmental protection authority on Tuesday, angering environmental campaigners.
Bennett Resources, a private subsidiary of U.S.-based Black Mountain Energy, submitted its Valhalla plan in 2021 to frack up to 20 wells and later increased the amount of water it said it would need for each well from 40 million litres to 100 million.
An Independent Expert Scientific Committee report commissioned by the federal government last year suggested there was uncertainty over whether groundwater could be protected from hazardous chemicals. The WA EPA concluded risks were low enough to greenlight the project.
“We are shocked by this decision to recommend the most environmentally destructive proposal in the history of the Kimberley. It’s outrageous the WA EPA has made this recommendation in the world’s most pristine natural landscapes,” said Environs Kimberley director Martin Pritchard.
“We know that the majority of people in Western Australia don’t want fracking in the Kimberley. The Kimberley is truly a global icon worth protecting from the ravages of fracking,” said Simone van Hattem, state campaign coordinator at Lock the Gate Alliance, a longstanding critic of unconventional gas projects across Australia.
Bennett Resources did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Valhalla is one of only two onshore gas projects in the state with an LNG export waiver. The other is the Waitsia project in the Perth Basin shared by Mitsui and Beach Energy, which began sending gas to the North West Shelf LNG plant operated by Woodside Energy in late 2025. The initial plan for Valhalla does not allow for production or LNG export but does allow for exploration and possible appraisal drilling. The project has been suggested as a potential candidate to backfill the NWS plant despite being 1,000 km (621 miles) away should Woodside’s plans to develop the offshore Browse gas fields fail to progress.
Western Australia ended a moratorium on fracking in 2018 following a review.
The Valhalla project will now go to a public appeals process.
Black Mountain Energy was originally listed on the Australian Securities Exchange but went private after only a few years, having lost the majority of its value.
(Reporting by Helen Clark; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
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