Bushfire reignites controversy: Santos under fire as Pilliga blaze rages

The Duck Creek Pilliga Forest fire escaped containment last weekend, nearly quadrupling in size and jumping from the Pilliga into Bibblewindi State Forest.

Santos finished building two new coal seam gas wells in Bibblewindi just last month.

The oil and gas company told the Leader no equipment has been damaged so far and a full inspection would be undertaken "when it is safe to do so".

"Santos is in regular contact and working closely with the Forestry Corporation and the Rural Fire Service (RFS), including providing access to our bore water tanks in the forests to support fire fighting efforts," a Santos spokesperson said.

"As a precaution Santos has proactively isolated all wells which are in the region currently impacted by the fires and continues to remotely monitor our infrastructure."

But the intensity of the fire - which is so large it created its own thunderstorm - has renewed calls to shut down the entire Narrabri Gas Project.

"The Pilliga has the most section 44 [emergency level] fires anywhere in Australia. Why on Earth would you go build a gas field in that area?" Warrumbungle Shire councillor Kodi Brady told the Leader.

Santos plans to drill more than 850 coal seam gas wells for the controversial project, which has approval from the NSW and federal governments.

Critics say extracting coal seam gas from the Liverpool Plains will compromise farmland, water supplies, and Indigenous heritage sites.

Quirindi farmer Peter Wills said the bushfire problem in particular was something locals have been sounding the alarm on for years.

Mr Wills is a member of the Liverpool Plains Action Group, which confronted Santos directly at AgQuip's 50th anniversary in Gunnedah in August.

"There were 23,000 submissions on the Narrabri Gas Project, 96 per cent in opposition. Many community members highlighted the risk of the Pilliga burning from bushfire and the added risk of Santos being there," he said.

One such submission from an RFS volunteer with 40 years of experience said putting a gas field in a bushfire-prone forest could intensify fires by adding fuel from diesel, flares, and fugitive methane emissions.

"The Pilliga is difficult to control burn, and it has a history of severe bushfires. Under intense heat shallow buried pipelines and coal seams could ignite. A network of gas pipelines will prevent heavy machinery from bulldozing firebreaks," the submission reads.

At this time there is no evidence to suggest the Pilliga fire has been intensified by the presence of Santos' gas wells.

Santos told the Leader it had a robust bushfire management plan which included "best practice emergency response and preparedness measures".

"The Independent Planning Commission considered all the submissions that were made on the Narrabri Gas Project and, accordingly, set appropriate conditions in relation to bushfire management," a Santos spokesperson said.

"Santos will continue to support the Rural Fire Service in any way we can and hope that everyone remains safe in these times. We are also offering assistance to our landholders in the event they are impacted by the fires."

But Mr Wills said he won't be convinced until he sees the aftermath of the current blaze.

"As we've seen, bushfires are already raging in the Pilliga with incredible intensity," he said.

"Santos was warned, and now the consequences of ignoring local experts have come home to roost."