Gas Industry Powering Queensland Economy: Appea

The natural gas industry is powering the economy of Queensland and a new report released by Lawrence Consulting underlines the importance of the sector for jobs and economic wealth creation for the state, the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (Appea) said October 15.

According to the report, Queensland’s natural gas industry contributed around A$55bn (US$37bn) to the state economy over seven years. Almost A$5bn was spent on wages state-wide during the period with the industry employing around 4600 full-time employees, according to the Economic Impact of Queensland’s Petroleum and Gas sector 2011-18 report.

The industry spent around A$50bn on goods and services from local community contributions and payments to local government as well as royalties, stamp duty and tax, the report found.

APPEA Queensland director Georgy Mayo said the study showed how vital the natural gas sector is for Queensland given the reporting period included a major downturn in the mining sector and a significant downturn in the global economy.

“The natural gas industry has propped up Queensland during a particularly tough time and it will continue to be a pillar of the economy for many decades to come,” Mayo said.

“Natural gas has also provided a huge boost regional centres like Gladstone, Toowoomba, Roma, Dalby and Chinchilla.

“As we are in the midst of one of the worst droughts on record, the natural gas industry has also helped offset some of the hardship with jobs, economic development and providing a new source of water for landowners.”

The study incorporated spending from Arrow Energy, ConocoPhillips, Origin, QGC, Santos, Senex and Westside Corporation.