Shell’s Latest Flaring Success: Because Setting Fire to the Environment Wasn’t Enough

Shell: making sure your future stays as bright as their gas flares—and just as toxic.

Posted by John Donovan: 9 Sept 2024

Hold on to your gas masks, folks—Shell is back, lighting up the Queensland sky with a gas flare so bright you could probably see it from space. Apparently, Shell’s digging around in the Taroom Trough has sparked industry hopes of a brand-new gas supply that could save Australia’s east coast from impending shortages. Because, of course, when you think about solving an energy crisis, the first name that comes to mind is the greedy sin stock Shell, renowned for its commitment to burning through both fossil fuels and the planet’s future.

According to Shell, the apparent gas strike deep beneath Queensland’s Bowen Basin has caused quite the buzz. A lovely little flare from one of Shell’s wells is fueling speculation that the region could be the next big gas goldmine, conveniently located near pipeline infrastructure. You know, so they can pump that precious gas to market even faster. Shell, of course, declined to confirm whether gas was actually flowing because why ruin the fun with facts?

Energy analyst Saul Kavonic got a bit excited, describing the area as the “most anticipated exploration play on the east coast” over the next two years. If Shell can prove horizontal drilling works down there, it could apparently unlock trillions of cubic feet of gas—because who wouldn’t want more fossil fuels pouring into the market right now? Just what the planet needs.

The timing of this environmentally responsible discovery couldn’t be better, given the east coast’s looming gas shortages, thanks to declining output from Bass Strait’s petroleum fields. But fear not, Shell is here to save the day—well, assuming they can frack the hell out of the place and drill down 3,500 meters, all while somehow convincing us that setting fire to the atmosphere is progress.

Rick Wilkinson from EnergyQuest gleefully pointed out that the flare at Shell’s site “seems to indicate more gas is flowing” than a recently tested well by Elixir, another company frantically drilling into the Taroom Trough. Hooray! More gas, more profits, more environmental devastation! You’d almost forget this whole thing involves controversial fracking techniques that definitely don’t have a long history of sparking public outrage.

Shell’s foray into this gas exploration wonderland is just the latest example of the company’s relentless pursuit of profit, no matter the cost. The Taroom Trough, they hope, could be the “next big wave of development,” following the coal seam gas boom. Because nothing says “wave of the future” like digging deeper and burning more fossil fuels while ignoring the ticking climate clock.

Omega Oil and Gas Ltd, Shell’s partner in gas-crime, is already chomping at the bit to get drilling in September. Their CEO, Trevor Brown, practically drooled at the thought of the commercial advantages, like the location’s proximity to pipelines and “low CO₂ levels” in the gas. Low CO₂! Wow, Shell really knows how to do clean gas, don’t they?

So, while Shell burns off another flare and adds “credibility” to their $200 million drilling spree, the rest of us get to sit back and watch as Australia’s east coast banks on more fossil fuel extraction to solve its energy woes. Shell: making sure your future stays as bright as their gas flares—and just as toxic.

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