Page 9 - AsianOil Week 18 2021

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AGL formally scraps Crib Point Image: AGL

LNG import project

PROJECTS & AUSTRALIA’S AGL Energy said this week that it Port Kembla plan in New South Wales having
COMPANIES was stoppinG development of its proposed Crib advanced to the site preparation stage to date.
Point LNG import project. The move is not a sur- The Australian Competition and Consumer
prising one, as it comes around a month after the Commission (ACCC) said earlier this year that
State of Victoria rejected the plan on concerns if Port Kembla LNG is built before 2024, this
over its environmental impact on could help plug the supply gap in
local wetlands. the southern states and the East
The company said it had already Coast market until 2028.
spent AUD130mn ($100mn) on There are a AGL is also a power generator,
the project, and would record a and now needs to consider how to
pre-tax loss of up to AUD108mn handful of LNG meet its gas needs over the com-
($83mn) in its results for the 2021 import projects ing years. This week, the Austral-
fiscal year owing to the expendi- ian Financial Review cited AGL’s
tures on the scheme to date. proposed for interim CEO, Graeme Hunt, as say-
The Crib Point plan was one of ing that importing LNG through a
a handful of LNG import projects Australia in rival project was still an option for
proposed for Australia in antici- the company.
pation of a shortfall in natural gas anticipation of “AGL has a highly flexible
supplies emerging in the coming a gas supply gas portfolio and a supply strat-
years. The shortfall is predicted to egy which will enable customer
materialise despite the fact that shortfall demand to be met from exist-
the country is one of the world’s ing and new domestic supply
leading exporters of LNG – with liquefaction sources and proposed third-party regasi-
projects located in a different, remote part of fication projects, leveraging LNG supply
the country. options developed for the Crib Point gas
The remaining LNG import proposals are all import terminal project,” the company said
at an early stage of development, with only the in a May 3 statement.™

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