The Wire

The negative image coal has transfers seamlessly to gas when it is CSG.

Yet gas is not mined like coal with big machines in huge open cut gashes of the landscape with dangerous particulates flying around, but drilled for like sinking a bore or a small version of drilling for oil.  It is quiet and space efficient, so what is the problem?

In the US many years ago badly drilled wells in unsuitable shale geology created problems with fracking chemicals polluting water supplies.  With the latest technology much of this risk is eliminated, and in NSW coal seams are often already fractured and don’t need fracking – so it could be actually the best place to drill for the gas we need.