Page 11 - AsianOil Week 38 2021

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for road upgrades throughout the region, in a be added to Queensland’s gross state product in
bid to support supply chains, trade and project the next 20 years.
construction.
What next
Queensland’s potential The Australian government is betting big that
The official launch of the programme will be wel- direct support for domestic development pro-
comed by both the Queensland government as grammes will drive gas production up and prices
well as the local upstream. down, which ends up benefiting domestic man-
Brisbane has been striving for years to ufacturing over the long run.
encourage gas production for the domestic mar- Despite producers, utilities, the market oper-
ket through the release of acreage where output ator and the green lobby all expressing some
is ringfenced for local buyers. The state has taken degree of scepticism over Canberra’s plans, the
a more open position to onshore projects that its federal government remains upbeat about its
counterparts in Victoria and New South Wales, vision.
where exploration and development has been While the upstream welcomes any finan-
limited owing to environmental concerns. cial support from the government, it has
Indeed, the Queensland State government viewed the associated motivation with some
characterised in May its embrace of gas projects concern. Developers have insisted that the
as the state “doing the heavy lifting on domestic days of cheap gas are over and that govern-
gas supply and policy”. ment meddling to this end could ultimately
The state’s upstream potential has also been hurt the market.
recognised a recent report by EY stating that Environmental activists have, for their part,
the gas sector could add more value to the state’s already challenged the government’s financial
economy than the 2032 Olympic Games. support for drilling programmes in the Beetaloo
In a foreshadowing of Pitt’s comments this in Federal Court.
week about the economic benefits of Queens- The Environment Centre NT and the Envi-
land’s gas projects, the Australian Petroleum ronmental Defenders Office filed a legal action
Production and Exploration Association against Pitt on July 28 challenging both the valid-
(APPEA) said on September 19 the gas sector ity of the Beetaloo Cooperative Drilling Pro-
had the potential to “turbocharge” the state econ- gramme as well as the AUD21mn ($15.3mn) in
omy in the coming years. drilling grants awarded to Imperial Oil and Gas
“The report shows the industry has already for three wells.
added AUD106bn ($77bn) or 3% per annum Just last week Justice John Griffiths said he
to the Queensland economy over the last dec- was “concerned” by Pitt’s decision to enter into
ade, employing more than 36,000 workers and the grant agreement with Imperial at the start of
paying AUD13bn ($9.5bn) in taxes,” APPEA this month, after his legal team had told the court
CEO Andrew McConville said. “EY have found an agreement would not be signed for weeks.
that fully unleashing Queensland’s gas industry The judge ordered Pitt’s legal team on Septem-
potential could result in a further AUD30bn ber 14 to file an affidavit to explain the “sudden”
($22bn) in investment producing 7,000 PJ of decision.
production capacity in the Queensland oil and Canberra remains fully committed to its
gas industry over the next 20 years.” vision of a “gas-fired recovery”, but the indus-
EY noted that under certain policy settings try will be watching to see how the current case
a further AUD64-129.3bn ($47bn-94bn) could before the Federal Court unfolds.™

Week 38 24•September•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P11