Queensland gas to save southern states from shortfall

Queensland has come to the rescue of its southern counterparts with a major deal to bring more Queensland gas on to the domestic market ahead of a predicted shortfall.

Resources Minister Scott Stewart today welcomed the announcement that an additional 91 petajoules of natural gas will be available to customers in southern states from 2022 following a new four-year gas supply agreement between Origin and Australia Pacific LNG.

“Once again Queensland is stepping up and doing the heavy lifting on domestic gas supply and policy,” Mr Stewart said.

“This deal will bring additional gas to the domestic market, particularly to the southern states who are facing a potential gas shortage crisis in the coming years.

“Affordable gas is vital to the country’s economy, including our industrial and manufacturing sectors, and it is gas from Queensland that is keeping these industries afloat.

“The gas and resources industries have been essential in helping Queensland’s economic recovery from COVID-19 and will continue to be into the future too.”

Australia Pacific LNG is already a major supplier to the domestic market, meeting about 30 per cent of east coast demand each year and the additional gas will help to meet a potential gas shortfall from 2023 as forecasted by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).

Mr Stewart said the Palaszczuk Government has released more than 80,000 square kilometres of land for gas exploration since 2015 with over a quarter of it guaranteeing the gas will be for Australian consumers.

“In a national first, we released land nearly three years ago exclusively for gas for the domestic market to boost essential supply to the east coast market, particularly our manufacturers,” Mr Stewart said.

“We have also committed $5 million to investigate the feasibility and options for a new transmission pipeline, potentially 500km long, to connect currently stranded areas of the Bowen Basin in central Queensland to the Australian east coast gas market.”

Mr Stewart also welcomed an announcement from the Federal Government that it would commit funding toward the study into the pipeline.

“We welcome this news from the Federal Government to support Queensland’s vital gas industry," he said.

ENDS

Contact: Chris Lees, 0434 859 940