The owner of Country Energy has announced it intends to invest $6 billion in coal-seam gas exploration and exploitation over the next four years.

Origin Energy, one of Australia’s largest energy retailers, also announced a $673m underlying profit for the financial year, an increase of 15 per cent over the previous year.

‘Significant contributions to the increase in underlying profit came from the newly acquired NSW energy businesses,’ the company announced in a media release.

One of the NSW businesses acquired by Origin is Country Energy, the default electricity supplier to most households and businesses in the Northern Rivers.

In the same release, Origin announced its intentions to significantly ramp up its commitment to coal-seam gas.

‘In July 2011, we took a final investment decision in respect of the Australia Pacific LNG CSG-to-LNG project. Origin’s 42.5 per cent share of the first phase of the project requires investment of around US$6 billion over the next four years,’ the company said.

Readers wishing not to contribute to the coffers of a company that supports CSG may be interested to know that it is now possible to change providers in most parts of our region.

The challenge, however, is in finding a provider that does not invest in CSG.
Country Energy now owned by Origin

In related news, the ABC reports that mining magnate Clive Palmer has come out strongly critical of CSG.

He told the National Party’s Federal Council in Canberra that a leading Chinese firm had raised issues with him about the Australian industry, saying extraction techniques they abandoned 20 years ago are still being used here.

A Senate inquiry is still  examining the economic, social and environmental impacts of coal-seam gas. A decision is expected by Christmas.