Brett Blundy seeks to stop Origin Energy frack in Top End

The owners of a Northern Territory cattle station are suing Origin Energy in a bid to stop them expanding its fracking operation.

Origin began fracking the Amungee well in the Beetaloo Basin in 2016.

The owners of the Amungee Mungee cattle station are seeking an injunction to stop Origin from further gas exploration.

The owners are billionaire businessman Brett Blundy and Katherine poly pipe manufacturers Emma and Adrian Brown.

They accuse Origin of failing to provide information about the environmental risks associated with fracking.

The Pepper inquiry found current land access guidelines in the NT were not binding and called for signed agreements between pastoralists and gas explorers to be mandatory, The NT News recently reported.

“It is the panel’s strong view that, prior to any access to a pastoral lease, a signed land access agreement (statutory land access agreement) must exist between the pastoral lessee and the gas company and, moreover, that the obligation to finalise such an agreement must be statutorily mandated,” the report reads.

An Origin spokesman said the company had “been talking to this pastoralist for almost 12 months for this year’s activity.”

“Origin previously reached agreement to access the same property, for similar activities, and had no issues either in reaching an agreement or in the execution of our work,” he said.

“Our desire is always to work constructively to finalise an agreement about access to the property.”