QUEENSLAND Gas Company (QGC) was responsible for more than 70 percent of the coal seam gas well leakages identified in a State Government audit report, which was released last week.
The State Government also directed QGC to resurvey a number of their wells as a precautionary measure, after it was revealed the company's methods were inconsistent with those employed by the rest of the industry.
Mining Minister Stirling Hinchliffe released the results of the Coal Seam Gas Well Head Safety Program audit on Monday, which found 34 leaks across 2719 well sites inspected throughout Queensland.
Of those leakages, the report found five well sites inspected were a recognised flammable risk (called a 'class one' leak). All five were owned by QGC.
Three of the leakages were located near Condamine, a single leak at Tara and another north of Taroom.
The highest detection was 21pc gas in the air, located at the QGC Champagne Creek 3 site, north of Taroom.
"While they posed limited risks to workers and the community, action was taken to fix them as soon as possible," Mr Hinchliffe said.
A further 29 leaks were detected that were below the flammable range, which were all repaired.
Of those affected wells, 19 were owned by QGC, three by Arrow, three by Origin, two by Westside, one by Bow Energy and one by Santos.
The report said all levels were within public health standards.
The report also found the QGC methodology for well inspection was not in accordance with the new industry- wide code of practice.
The report said QGC, via third-party contractors, used a detection method immediately adjacent to the well equipment for about two-thirds of their inspections.
According to the report, this is not an appropriate method because every minute leak will potentially provide a greater than 100pc LFL reading, and was causing QGC to identify an elevated number of 'class three' leaks.
As a result, the number of class three minor gas leakages discovered was not included in the government report.
As a precaution, QGC was directed to resurvey the wells in accordance with the code of practice, despite the class three leakage level presenting minimal or no risk. A QGC spokesperson said the company's wells would continue to be inspected regularly.
"The well-head safety program has resolved inconsistencies around well-head testing and has put all operators on the same footing," he said. "QGC welcomes scrutiny of its operations."
In May last year, 58 wells were tested at QGC Kenya gas fields, near Tara.
The investigation found 26 of those wells were leaking, including one of which was well over the explosive limit, four that were at or 10pc over the limit, and 21 that had minor leaks.
Mr Hinchliffe said the newly announced State Government code of practice for detecting and managing gas emissions at CSG well sites provided a consistent standard for the testing and reporting of gas leaks.
"Companies must now immediately fix leaks that fall over the reportable level - even those which may have a very low volume of gas - and report those leaks to the government's petroleum and gas inspectorate," he said.
"The minimum is set at just 10pc of the concentration needed to sustain a flame, even though leaks at that level pose very little to no safety health risk to workers or the community.
"The 10pc minimum set in the code is far tougher than the 20 to 25pc concentration levels commonly used by gas and emergency workers responding to domestic gas leaks."
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