LNG

The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) has criticized a report from the Government of the state of Western Australia, the nation’s main natural gas producer and LNG exporter, for issuing a Resources Sector Strategy document without mentioning the critical role of natural gas.

The head of Royal Dutch Shell in Australia told the nation’s main energy conference that in the wake of the election result, which saw the conservative coalition returned to power, the industry had an opportunity to “plant the seeds of positive public debate” around energy.

Australia, whose LNG output will soon exceed 80 million tonnes per annum, is proposing other nations follow its initiative for industry-wide coordination of plant shut-downs and more sharing of infrastructure.

Australian energy executives have said at a conference in Adelaide that it would be more economic to ship natural gas as LNG from the West Coast to the East Coast rather than build a trans-Australia pipeline.

The Australian petroleum industry will gather for four days in Adelaide from May 14 for an annual conference attended by around 2,000 people as the nation prepares to become the world’s largest LNG exporter and political pressure continues over the future direction of energy policy.

Australian liquefied natural gas producers have welcomed the decisions by the Northern Territory government to lift a ban on hydraulic fracturing for onshore shale gas exploration and said it was an opportunity for the next LNG supply gap in the 2020s.

Western Australian, the state hosting three liquefied natural gas export plants and with a fourth, Wheatstone LNG, set to come on stream shortly has been urged to cancel an inquiry into hydraulic fracturing for shale gas as a waste of time and money and a cause of uncertainty that is “strangling” the onshore gas industry.