Australia’s Labor government presented a strategy to enhance natural gas development, emphasizing its commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, citing demand from major Asian trade partners.
Australia, a major exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), was highlighted by Resources Minister Madeline King, who stated that gas would continue to be necessary “through to 2050 and beyond” amid the global transition to cleaner energy
Launching the government’s Future Gas Strategy, she emphasized the necessity for ongoing exploration, investment, and development in the sector to facilitate Australia and its export partners’ journey towards net zero emissions and to prevent a gas supply shortage.
Last year, Australia supplied approximately a fifth of the global LNG shipments, with major projects operated by Chevron and Woodside Energy Group in Western Australia. Its primary customers are located in China, Japan, and South Korea.
Following criticism for implementing short-term measures to enhance domestic gas supply and reduce soaring energy prices in 2022 amid Russia’s war on Ukraine, the centre-left government devised the new strategy.
The plan outlines initiatives to decrease Australia’s emissions, including leasing additional offshore acreage for carbon capture and storage, and promoting the development of new gas fields. It also involves tightening “use it or lose it” provisions on existing leases.
Woodside and Santos are currently facing opposition from environmentalists who are against the gas projects they are developing off northwestern Australia. Meanwhile, smaller companies are encountering resistance to shale gas drilling in the Northern Territory.
In a column in the Australian Financial Review on Thursday, King emphasized that the strategy underscores the inability to depend solely on past investments to navigate through the coming decades as existing fields deplete.
Energy producers welcomed the announcement, but renewable energy advocates and environmentalists criticized it.
Carmel Flint, national coordinator at the environmental group Lock the Gate, stated in a statement that the Future Gas Strategy announced today promotes a reckless plan to open up new industrial gas basins that will damage land, water, and communities.