Empire Energy’s pilot project to frack gas in the Beetaloo Basin has been given environmental approval, the company has said, while an environmental group estimated the approval would allow the company to use 410 million litres of water, the equivalent of 164 Olympic swimming pools and produce 72 pools worth of fracking wastewater over the life of the project.

Empire managing director Alex Underwood said in an ASX announcement the approval allowed the company to drill nine new wells and also allowed for the installation of the Carpentaria gas plant, as well as above ground process facilities with access to the McArthur River Pipeline for export of gas to markets.

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