Latest news with #AustralianEnergyProducersConference
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Australia's Gas Sector Scores Win in Wider Push to Ease Red Tape
(Bloomberg) -- Australia's natural gas sector secured a long-awaited regulatory victory with permission to extend the life of the nation's biggest export plant, but the industry is still grappling with policy uncertainty that it says hampers investment. The Woodside Energy Group Ltd.-operated North West Shelf project received provisional clearance on Wednesday to run to 2070 after a process that lasted more than six years. However, many other multibillion-dollar gas projects planned over the next decade are still waiting for approvals from state or federal government agencies. 'It's an encouraging early sign, but the industry wants to see more action on approval reform before their appetite returns to Australia,' said Saul Kavonic, an energy analyst at MST Marquee. 'Things that used to take months still take years.' Stricter policies and legal challenges from environmental and indigenous groups have held up Australian gas developments, which are a major contributor to the nation's status as one of the biggest per-capita polluters. Investment in gas exploration in Australia has grown by just 15% in the past five years, compared with almost 30% globally, industry consultant Wood Mackenzie said in a report this week. The nation's share in the investment portfolio of major international oil companies has fallen to 15% from more than 40% just over a decade ago, it said. ExxonMobil Corp. has paused investments in recent years due to the regulatory instability, Australia Chair Simon Younger said in Brisbane this week. Meanwhile, Chevron Corp.'s Australia President Balaji Krishnamurthy stressed the importance of consistent policies that can endure over time at the industry gathering. 'There is a bit of alphabet soup in the energy space, and if the government is wanting to simplify that and have sharper delineation of roles and responsibilities, I think that would be welcomed by the industry,' Woodside Chief Executive Officer Meg O'Neill said at the Australian Energy Producers Conference conference. The extension of North West Shelf will allow Woodside to seek sign-offs on Browse, an ambitious plan to send gas from massive offshore reserves to the liquefied natural gas plant. The company has amended that project, which is being assessed by Western Australia's Environmental Protection Agency, to limit its impact on a major reef system. The approval of the extension also comes in the same month Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Labor Party was resoundingly reelected, defying some forecasts that he would need support from the Greens or climate-focused independents to form government. Albanese has said the nation will need more gas to support renewables and to help the country meet its net zero commitments. 'I think I can speak for all my colleagues in the industry, we're all ready to invest,' Kevin Gallagher, the CEO of gas producer Santos Ltd., said at the conference. 'If we get the policy certainty, the regulatory clarity and stability that we need, we're all ready to invest.' More stories like this are available on
The Age
5 days ago
- Business
- The Age
Coal to power Queensland ‘as long as sensible and needed'
Queensland's energy future will remain based on coal, Treasurer David Janetzki has told a resource industry conference, as he pledged to extend the life of the state's coal-fired power stations. Janetzki, also Queensland's energy minister, was among the speakers at the Australian Energy Producers Conference in Brisbane on Tuesday, which attracted more than 2000 attendees. The LNP government would take a more aggressive approach to using fossil fuels, he said, and would extend the use of gas and coal. '[Coal-fired power stations] will remain open as long as it is economically sensible and systematically needed, not [closed on] an arbitrary date to fill a headline for a day,' he said. His comments came a day after the Queensland government cancelled the Moonlight Range Wind Farm proposed near Rockhampton, which would have seen 88 wind turbines installed and generated enough energy to power 260,000 homes annually. Speaking on Monday, Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said 88 per cent of locals opposed the project. 'The local government in Rockhampton did not support it, they had no community buy-in, there was limited consultation to start, [and] it was assessed on two-codes-old [legislation],' he said. Bleijie put other wind farm projects on hold earlier in the year, calling for greater scrutiny on new renewable energy builds. He said the state was expected to pass new legislation in several weeks' time that would require social impact assessments for renewable energy projects.
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Coal to power Queensland ‘as long as sensible and needed'
Queensland's energy future will remain based on coal, Treasurer David Janetzki has told a resource industry conference, as he pledged to extend the life of the state's coal-fired power stations. Janetzki, also Queensland's energy minister, was among the speakers at the Australian Energy Producers Conference in Brisbane on Tuesday, which attracted more than 2000 attendees. The LNP government would take a more aggressive approach to using fossil fuels, he said, and would extend the use of gas and coal. '[Coal-fired power stations] will remain open as long as it is economically sensible and systematically needed, not [closed on] an arbitrary date to fill a headline for a day,' he said. His comments came a day after the Queensland government cancelled the Moonlight Range Wind Farm proposed near Rockhampton, which would have seen 88 wind turbines installed and generated enough energy to power 260,000 homes annually. Speaking on Monday, Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said 88 per cent of locals opposed the project. 'The local government in Rockhampton did not support it, they had no community buy-in, there was limited consultation to start, [and] it was assessed on two-codes-old [legislation],' he said. Bleijie put other wind farm projects on hold earlier in the year, calling for greater scrutiny on new renewable energy builds. He said the state was expected to pass new legislation in several weeks' time that would require social impact assessments for renewable energy projects.
