Australian Gas Sector Needs Regulatory Reform to Rival Qatar's

Australian oil and gas industry body Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (AAPEA) said Wednesday that regulatory reform to address country’s sliding cost competitiveness is now more important than ever following the release of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) World Energy Outlook 2013.

The IEA says that Australia’s gas production growth would see the nation rival Qatar as the world’s largest exporter of LNG by the year 2020, but only if plans to export are realised in full.

“Commitments to new resource developments in Australia have slowed markedly over the last year or so, and the prospects for another round of major Australian LNG projects will depend heavily on how costs evolve, on the deployment of new, potentially less costly technologies, such as floating LNG, and on competition from other regions, notably North America,” the IEA World Energy Outlook 2013 said.

According to APPEA Chief Executive David Byers, “Not only is there increased competition from North America, there are offshore developments in East Africa, and the IEA has identified the possibility of Russia expanding LNG export capacity to reach into the coveted markets of Asia.”

Byers added that despite Australia having enormous potential supplies of natural gas, if the country fails to harness the opportunity to remain competitive in global markets further resources will remain undeveloped and jobs will be lost along with the potential for cheaper, cleaner energy and future tax revenues.

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