The oil and gas industry has urged the Australian Government to use the 2023-24 Budget to support investment in additional gas supply and emissions reduction measures to keep gas prices low, help ensure energy security, and accelerate the road to net zero emissions, according to the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA).
In a statement, APPEA said the industry has never been more essential to the nation’s economic and greener energy future and ensuring a dependable investment environment will bring more advantages to Australians.
In its 2023–24 Federal Budget submission, the APPEA advocates for a national plan for carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) to give clear policy direction, identify and advance priority hubs for low emissions projects, and position Australia as a regional leader in carbon storage.
APPEA Chief Executive Samantha McCulloch said: “Capturing and permanently storing emissions from industrial facilities, including hydrogen production, and directly from the atmosphere makes the most of our world-class geological resources and is critical to reaching net zero.”
In addition, APPEA urges the Federal Government to support new gas supply investment rather than intervening with interventionist policies that have the opposite impact on satisfying demand and lower prices.
According to APPEA, key measures include allowing the market work to lower prices, advancing new acreage releases, pressuring New South Wales and Victoria to lift moratoria that are a factor in the nation’s highest gas prices, and designating new supply and low emissions technology projects as critical projects.
McCulloch said Australia’s natural gas is critical to establishing a secure, dependable, and cheap future energy system and reaching net zero.
“The significant contribution from the sector underpins state and federal investment in roads, schools and hospitals, allowed Australia to weather the economic downturn and will play a role in our economic success for decades to come,” McCulloch stated.
However, McCulloch added that the value of our energy resources and their contribution to the economy, jobs, and net zero could not be taken for granted, and clear and consistent regulations are required to give industry confidence to invest in the necessary new energy supplies.
“The recent government price cap intervention – combined with the proposed Mandatory Code of Conduct – lets the government permanently determine gas prices,” she said.
According to McCulloch, this, combined with ongoing legal challenges and delays for new oil and gas projects, creates enormous uncertainty and makes investors hesitant to invest in the sector and the economy.
“The government should take note of the lessons from the price cap implementation when considering permanent regulation of gas prices through a mandatory Code of Conduct. It would send a positive signal to investors to recommit to an open, market-based economy,” McCulloch stated.
APPEA also wants the Government to keep the planned Environmental Protection Agency’s scope consistent with its pre-election promises while eliminating existing redundancy under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, avoiding new duplication and simplifying approvals.
McCulloch said: “We want to improve environmental standards and build business certainty, avoiding added costs to project approvals and delays at a time when new supply is so important.”
.){kind=link}