Origin Energy's Australia Pacific LNG has requested Queensland regulators to amend an environmental authority, increasing coal seam gas production in a Western Downs lease without needing new project approval.

The proposed amendment permits up to 46 new wells in PL1106, surface infrastructure, and hydraulic stimulation of 37 wells, exceeding exploration and appraisal. Gas and water would be managed via existing Condabri and Talinga facilities, avoiding new plants or dams.

Energy News Bulletin understands Origin Energy is preparing to sharply scale back its long-running federal approval bid, cutting its 2021 Australia Pacific LNG consortium proposal from 4,435 coal seam gas wells to about 1,695 wells concentrated within its PL1106 acreage — a reduction of more than 60% that would materially narrow the project's scope.

The move sits within a still-unresolved federal assessment after APLNG, operated by Origin alongside ConocoPhillips and Sinopec, referred its Gas Supply Security Project to Canberra in 2021 seeking approval for more than 4,400 wells across central and south-west Queensland, including tenements near Carnarvon and Expedition national parks, with potential impacts on multiple listed species and ecological communities.

Origin says the proposal fits within existing approvals, requires no new processing plants or dams, and would manage gas and water through the Condabri and Walloons systems, with about 8.5GL of produced water reused and residual environmental risks assessed as low after mitigation.

The amendment also involves exercising underground water rights within PL1106, with monitoring and management aligned to Queensland's cumulative impact regime for the Surat Basin.

Environmental groups question whether authorising up to 46 new wells and stimulation in a previously undeveloped area can be seen as an administrative change rather than a new project. The debate is heightened by political sensitivity around gas expansion in Queensland, community concern over fracking and water impacts, and the optics of expanding fossil fuel production amid climate and security tensions.

Opposition to the plan

Lock the Gate Alliance says Origin is seeking to frack for gas in an area just North of the township of Tara. We have a range of concerns with this project, including the water impacts and the disposal of toxic drilling mud.

"The Tara community is very concerned about the impacts of the coal seam gas industry, which  they have experienced for over a decade," said the environmental groups' national coordinator, Ellen Roberts.

"In the last few months we have held two well attended public meetings to discuss Origin's gas expansion plans, including this latest application, and we will continue to work with the community to make sure their voice is heard."

The planned amendment from Origin/APLNG comes a day after it was revealed that Gladstone LNG, the Santos-backed rival Queensland LNG operation, is also looking to expand their operation in the Surat Basin. In a development document lodged with the federal government to drill 45 new wells, Santos also referred to plans to drill thousands of new wells in the coming decade.

Origin Energy has been contacted for comment.