MEDIA RELEASE
July 2006
Media Release
PREMIER WELCOMES RUSSIAN INTEREST IN SMART FUEL TECHNOLOGY
Premier of Queensland
The Honourable Peter Beattie
19/07/2006
PREMIER WELCOMES RUSSIAN INTEREST IN SMART FUEL TECHNOLOGY
Premier Peter Beattie said today's visit by a high level Russian business delegation to inspect Smart State technology could lead to a significant increase in gas and diesel oil production in Queensland. Mr Beattie said the Russian group was from Belon Ltd, based in Kuzbass, Russia.
"Benlon employs 6,000 workers in coal mining, manufacturing and related industries," Mr Beattie said.
"For decades, the Russians have been using the underground coal gasification (UCG) process to convert coal reserves into sources of high quality diesel fuel and other energy products.
"UCG effectively takes low-valued, stranded, coal reserves and transforms them into a massive, worldscale, oil resource.
"The delegation is here to look at Queensland's Smart technology, and to gain first-hand knowledge of the SmartState's potential in this arena," he said.
Mr Beattie said the delegation would be hosted by Brisbane-based company, Linc Energy Ltd, which brought UCG to Australia several years ago.
"Linc Energy is a SmartState company taking the development of UCG to the next level and believes its work will reveal UCG as one of the country's major alternate energy sources," Mr Beattie said.
"It has the capability to produce 20,000 barrels per day of ultra clean diesel fuel through the expansion of its UCG field near Chinchilla.
"The company also expects to commence further exploration drilling on site later this month," he said.
Mr Beattie said the the Russian delegation would fly to Chinchilla by helicopter from Brisbane today, before returning to Brisbane and then flying on to Sydney.
"Russia is a strong emerging trading partner for Queensland, with enormous potential.
"Over the past five years, the growth in Queensland's merchandise exports to Russia has more than doubled, increasing by more than 150 per cent," he said.
Mr Beattie visited Russia last month in an effort to accelerate growing Russian interest in investing in Queensland.
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