The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has given a company co-owned by Gina Rinehart approval to develop and operate up to 151 new coal seam gas wells in inland Queensland.
A spokesperson for Plibersek said the Atlas stage 3 project proposed by Senex Energy, which is jointly owned by South Korea’s steel giant Posco and Rinehart, would “primarily contribute domestic gas supply to households and Australian manufacturing – including for glass, bricks, cement and food packaging”.
