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Australia signs energy deal with NSW
AUSTRALIA
THE Australian government has agreed to pro- vide AUD2bn ($1.34bn) of funding for energy infrastructure projects in the state of New South Wales in return for local authorities promising to boost natural gas supply for domestic users.
The NSW government has committed to help deliver 70 petajoules (1.82bn cubic metres) per year of new gas supply for domestic consumption.
In return, the federal government will pro- vide funding for East Coast power grid upgrades, two new interstate transmission links and renew- able energy projects.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on January 31 that the deal would stabilise the state’s power grid, cut power prices and sup- port new wind, solar and hydropower projects.
“It is about getting electricity prices down, getting emissions down, getting more power into the system, and getting the gas to make that happen,” Morrison told reporters.
Industry body Australian Petroleum Produc- tion & Exploration Association (APPEA) wel- comed the agreement, saying that it underlined the importance of developing the state’s signi - cant gas resources. It said: “ e Narrabri gas pro- ject, which is still awaiting nal environmental
approval a er years of assessment, could deliver up to 50% of NSW’s gas needs. e operator of the project, Santos, has pledged to deliver all of the project’s gas supply to the domestic market.” “If we can develop Narrabri gas, it will be the most competitively priced gas for NSW custom- ers,” Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher told Reuters.
“It will always be cheaper than LNG imports, especially when gas prices are high in Asia.” e deal is intended as the rst in a series of such agreements with state and territory governments around the country, with carbon reduction and renewable energy targets at the forefront of local agendas. For the central government, however, ramping up domestic gas production remains a top priority.
Morrison said in a briefing on January 29 that any successful energy transition plan for the country would have to include a greater reliance on gas.
“We need to get the gas from under our feet,” the prime minister said. “Gas can help us bridge the gap while our investments in batter- ies, hydrogen and pumped hydro energy storage bring these technologies to parity to traditional energy sources ... so right now, we’ve got to get the gas.™
INVESTMENT
Gazprom eyes increased role in Bangladesh
BANGLADESH
RUSSIA’S Gazprom signed memoranda of understandings (MoUs) on January 28 with Bangladesh’s state oil company Petrobangla and its subsidiary Bapex on joint upstream activities.
e deal with Petrobangla covers strategic co-operation in the exploration, production and transportation of hydrocarbons, the Bangladeshi company said in a statement. Meanwhile, the document with Bapex, Petrobangla’s upstream arm, provides for joint seismic studies and other activity at two gas elds on Bangladesh’s Bhola Island.
Bangladesh is a major gas producer in its own right, extracting 27.5bn cubic metres in 2018, according to BP statistics.
But the country began struggling with short- ages several years ago as a result of soaring demand for gas among households and in the power generation sector.
ese shortages have led to rolling blackouts – a key drag on economic growth.
Bangladesh’s solution has been to invest more in domestic gas production on the one hand, and
expand imports of LNG on the other. It commis- sioned its rst LNG terminal o Maheshkhali Island in late 2018, and began receiving 2.5mn tonnes per year of supplies under a deal with Qatar. Its LNG intake is slated to reach 10-15mn tpy within ve years, assuming new regasi ca- tion capacity is built.
Gazprom has been working in Bangla- desh since 2012, under drilling contracts with Petrobangla, Bapex and other state entities.
rough the latest deals, the Russian com- pany hopes to expand its footprint in a fast-grow- ing market. It may also be hoping to develop gas that can be sold to consumers in neighbouring India.
In addition, strengthening ties with Bangla- deshi partners will also help Gazprom bid for new LNG supply contracts in the country.
Yamal LNG, an LNG terminal operated by Gazprom’s domestic rival Novatek, shipped its rst LNG cargo to Bangladesh in December. e cargo was supplied under the project’s long-term o ake agreement with France’s Total.™
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w w w. N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 05 05•February•2020