Northern Territory Can Play Important Role in Australian East Coast Gas Market

Australia's Northern Territory (NT) has an opportunity to play a significant role in addressing the gas supply issue facing the Australian east coast markets, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairman Rod Sims said at the South East Asia Australia Offshore & Onshore Conference in Darwin on September 15.

He said there are potentially very large gas resources in the NT and there is now going to be a pipeline built to connect them to the east coast gas market. “However, for this potential to be realised it is imperative that we have some further onshore gas development. It seems to me that the NT could play a significant role. As we know there is some gas in the NT not requiring fracking.”

His comment came a day after NT chief minister Michael Gunner announced a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking at the same event.

ACCC chairman Rod Sims (Credit: ACCC)

Without new gas supply from a range of basins and producers there will be significant implications for gas prices and gas availability in the southern states, he added. “There is little prospect of a significant increase in supply from the existing production basins in the southern states."

Shardul Sharma

For more on Australia's gas market, please see the forthcoming issue of Natural Gas World, out next week.