Plan to dot Sydney with gas wells

An energy company manager has reportedly outlined a plan to have Sydney's inner city dotted with what he says will be unobtrusive coal seam gas wells.

Dart Energy manager Robbert de Weijer has told the Sydney Morning Herald his company plans to extract coal seam gas at St Peters in Sydney's inner west, with wells in industrial estates feeding the gas into pipelines or small-scale power plants.

Mr de Weijer says the state government's 60-day moratorium on new gas exploration approvals has delayed the project slightly, and a company prospectus says drilling is to begin at the St Peters site in September.

The paper says many local residents and environment groups oppose the plan and 800 people from the area have joined a group to stop the wells.

But Dart Energy says its work will be done in close consultation with the state government and people living near drill sites, and no one will drill in people's backyards.