Gas consortium seeks approval to drill 7,700 wells in Queensland, including near national parks

Australia Pacific LNG wants environmental approval to drill across nearly half a million hectares of central and south-west Queensland

Australia's largest east coast gas producer has sought federal environmental approval to drill up to 7,700 new gas wells in Queensland, prompting concern from environmentalists due to the project's sheer size and its proximity to two national parks.

Australia Pacific LNG - a joint venture between Origin, ConocoPhillips and Sinopec - has lodged a referral under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to expand its Gas Supply Security Project" and drill across an additional 476,492ha of central and south-west Queensland.