Despite the billions spent and pledged on the Beetaloo Basin’s shale gas reserves, it could prove to be a massive sinkhole for investors’ and taxpayers’ cash, according to this report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

This analysis shows that in most cases, the alleged benefits of Beetaloo gas development being touted by the NT Government, and subsidised by the Australian Government, are in direct conflict with observable, publicly-available economic data, and also with much of the economic, emissions and fiscal modelling undertaken to date.

The purpose of this report is to provide the Australian community and decision-makers with a synthesis of the now extensive evidence demonstrating multiple direct and indirect health and wellbeing risks from oil and gas developments.

A study, purported to be from the CSIRO, that showed that fracking was “safe for the environment” was actually overseen by the gas industry, and was based on just six of Queensland’s 19,000 coal seam gas wells, according to this analysis by The Australia Institute.

This paper highlights that employment in gas-related manufacturing declined while gas in the Northern Territory was very cheap. Fracked gas will be far more expensive, making petrochemical manufacturing in the Territory unviable without massive taxpayer subsidy.