March 2015
Clean Water Healthy Land Briefing on
Beekeepers Nature Reserve Seismic Testing
What is planned?
Norwest Energy (along with partners AWE and Bharat Petroleum) are planning to clear up to 185 hectares of
high quality native vegetation (‘Kwongan Heathland’) in and around the Beekeeper’s Nature Reserve.
What for?
They want to do 3D seismic testing to work out where to locate a horizontal fracking well (Arrowsmith 3) to join
Arrowsmith 2 (a well fracked in 2013 outside the nature reserve) and turn the area around the nature reserve
into a commercial gas fracking field (see Norwest investor presentation, section on the Arrowsmith project):
http://www.norwestenergy.com.au/assets/files/Company%20Presentations/2014%2003%2011%20Excellence
%20in%20Oil%20and%20Gas%20Presentation.pdf
Where?
Twenty kilometres north of Eneabba, covering part of the Northern Beekeeper’s Nature Reserve and the
surrounding land. The company will be clearing 3 metre-wide corridors in a grid measuring 10 kilometres by 10
kilometres (marked below – yellow line to the right is the Brand Highway, green lines are the Beekeepers Nature
Reserve).
Has it been approved?
The State Government and Federal Governments have failed to carry out full assessments, dismissed all
environmental appeals and granted approval (with some conditions). The company is now waiting for the
Department of Mines and Petroleum to approve the activity and safety plans before the works can begin.
When will it happen?
According to Norwest’s stakeholder relations consultant, it could happen by the end of March 2015.
Some of the people who have opposed the project are:
 Beekeepers (see the recent ABC article http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-02/beekeepers-opposefracking-in-nature-reserve/6267088)
 Wildflower experts
 Tourism operators
 Local residents
 Conservation groups (including WA’s peak conservation body, the Conservation Council)
 Scientists – the Kwongan Foundation at UWA want the nature reserves of this area to be world heritage
listed because of their amazing biodiversity.
What are the main problems?
 A nature reserve (and the area around it which has extremely high conservation value as well) is not an
appropriate area for oil and gas exploration – it should be for conservation and for the public to enjoy.

The company has clearly stated they plan to turn the area around the nature reserve into a commercial
gas fracking field, which would have a huge impact on the reserve as well as other industries in the area
(including beekeeping and tourism) and the conservation values of the region.

The clearing will impact on habitat for threatened fauna species such as Carnaby’s cockatoo and WA’s
own honey possum, as well as destroying threatened flora species.

Even with the conditions applied by the Federal and State Government to reduce the environmental
impact of the project, the clearing and other activity will seriously increase the risk of incursion of feral
animals, weeds and dieback in the area.

The company has promised to make sure the area is being rehabilitated within 5 years, but it is their
plan to turn the area around the nature reserve into a gasfield over the coming years. The
Environmental Protection Agency ignored this ‘cumulative impact’ when deciding to approve the project,
so the company was not required to address those plans or their impacts.
What can I do?
 Call your local MP and ask them to join the campaign to protect Beekeeper’s Nature Reserve. If you
need help, call us.

Sign the petition to Parliament asking them to investigate this project and stop the clearing (copies of
the petition are available from Conservation Council, 9420 7266).

Ask your local community group (Lions Clubs, Rotary, CWAs, etc) to support the protection of
Beekeepers Nature Reserve.

Write to Norwest and tell them you don’t support the clearing or fracking in this area:
Norwest Energy NL
PO Box 1264
West Perth
Western Australia 6872
Tel: +61 8 9227 3240
Fax: +61 8 9227 3211
Email: info@norwestenergy.com.au
For more information go to www.cleanwaterhealthyland.org.au or contact Chantelle Roberts on 9420 7266,
chantelle.roberts@ccwa.org.au.
More about the Kwongan Heath
 Beekeeper’s Nature Reserve is part of the Kwongan heathland in
the State’s Mid West.
 As reported in February, Scientists from UWA are working to get
world heritage listing for the national parks and nature reserves of
the Kwongan Heath.
 The Kwongan heath contains many endemic species and is an
internationally listed biodiversity hotspot.
 Famous for its wildflowers, the region contains greater plant
diversity than the Amazon Rainforest.



The Beekeeper’s Nature Reserve also has a very special resident –
WA's unique honey possum
the honey possum. Honey possums (pictured) are a tiny 10-gram
marsupial measuring less than 10 cm in length.
The species dated back more than 60 million years, but is now found only in pockets of the Kwongan Heath.
Native vegetation clearing for fracking and seismic testing poses a great risk to the food supply of the honey possum. This
little guy is Australia’s only nectivorous (honey- and pollen-eating) marsupial and relies on a steady supply of wildflower
pollen and honey throughout the year for its diet.
About Fracking
 Commercial-scale gas fracking involves drilling hundreds or
thousands of wells across the landscape and injecting water,
chemicals and sand at high pressure into the ground to crack
layers of rock and release gas.
 Gas fracking uses many chemicals in large quantities as part of
the process and gas fracking activities have been associated
with groundwater and surface water contamination in the
USA1 (shale gas) and in Queensland2 (coal seam gas).
 Commercial gas fracking has been associated with a number
of health conditions in the USA and in eastern states of
Australia. The Concerned Health Professionals of New York
have issued a compendium detailing environmental and
health ‘risks and harms’ from fracking.3
The impact on the land of a shale fracking field in the USA
 Gas fracking exploration permits cover large areas of WA’s
fragile coastal plains, from near Carnarvon down to Margaret River. A huge swathe of the pristine Kimberley region is
covered in exploration permits.
 25% of WA’s water reserve areas are already covered by petroleum leases. Fracking could take place in over 35 drinking
water supply areas, including almost every coastal water resource from Margaret River to Geraldton.
 Since 2008, 7 exploration shale gas fracks have taken place in WA. There have been some issues:
o Corybas well in the Mid West was found to be leaking in 2010.
o A waste water pond at Buru’s Yulleroo 3 operation overflowed into the surrounding environment in 2013. Locals also
reported that Yulleroo 2 well was leaking gas in 2014.
o Warro 5&6 wells in the Watheroo National Park in the Mid West were abandoned after hitting a high pressure artesian
aquifer.
 The Environmental Protection Agency has not yet done a full Environmental Impact Assessment on any fracking projects in
WA.
For more information go to www.cleanwaterhealthyland.org.au or contact Chantelle Roberts on 9420 7266, chantelle.roberts@ccwa.org.au.
1
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/01/05/some-states-confirm-water-pollution-from-drilling/4328859/
2
http://coalseamgasnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Contaminated-sites-and-accidents-related-specifically-to-CSG-in-Australia.pdf
3
http://concernedhealthny.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/CHPNY-Fracking-Compendium.pdf