Valkyrie property - Project Freyja

Valkyrie property - Project Freyja is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located on the Valkyrie pastoral station in the Isaac Region of Queensland. The project area sits approximately 95km east of Moranbah and 145km southwest of Mackay. Registered in June 2019 (with a start date variation to September 2020), the project covers 1,355 hectares of land historically used for cattle grazing. The project is managed by QGC Pty Limited, a subsidiary of Shell, which utilizes the property to generate offsets for its natural gas operations.

The Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) methodology focuses on restoring native forest cover on land where vegetation has been suppressed for at least 10 years. In this context, the project activities involve the cessation of mechanical clearing and the active management of grazing pressure to allow native stocks to regenerate. For the project to generate credits, the land must have the potential to attain forest cover, defined as trees reaching at least two meters in height and achieving 20% canopy cover.

The Valkyrie district is characterized by a sub-tropical to semi-arid climate with distinct wet and dry seasons, receiving an average annual rainfall of approximately 600mm to 700mm, predominantly in summer. The local environment typically features Brigalow belt vegetation with soils ranging from cracking clays (brigalow soils) to texture-contrast soils on creek flats. The surrounding region is heavily invested in both agriculture (cattle grazing) and resource extraction (coal mining), making environmental offset projects like this critical for biodiversity connectivity in the area.

An interesting aspect of this project is its naming convention; "Freyja" is a figure in Norse mythology, fitting the theme of the property name "Valkyrie." QGC purchased the wider Valkyrie station specifically to secure strategic offsets for the Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) project. This specific project (Freyja) appears to be one of several potential carbon abatement activities on the substantial landholding.