The Australian government is set to decide on the liquefied natural gas venture project of Santos Ltd. and BG Group PLC Origin and partner ConocoPhillips in Queensland on Oct. 22.

The proposed coal-bed methane projects were recently found to have traces of some banned chemicals, which are seen to stall its approval.

Environment Minister Tony Burke is due to decide by Oct. 22 whether this coal energy project for conversion to LNG is environmentally safe and viable for further exploration and export to fuel-hungry Asia.

In a report, Bloomberg's Businessweek said quoting a Macquarie analyst said this would not hamper the final decision of the Australian government.

The analyst said the quantities of the contaminants may be very small and would not put the entire project in jeopardy.

Chemical traces

The Sydney-based company Origin disclosed in a report yesterday that traces of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene -- more known as BTEX -- in samples taken from eight wells in the Surat Basin, Queensland.

The company said it reported the case to authorities and they have agreed that separate tests to be conducted by an independent testing team.