Fracking ban Victoria: Shell crack at plan
KATH SULLIVAN, The Weekly Times
January 18, 2017 12:00am
OIL and gas giant Shell has weighed in on Victoria’s plan to ban fracking and stop conventional onshore gas exploration and extraction until 2020.
Shell, which does not produce gas in Victoria and did not provide a submission to the parliamentary inquiry that led to the Australian-first ban, said the Government’s policy would drive up gas prices.
“If Victorian customers are forced to buy their gas from Queensland they will pay the cost of that gas plus the substantial cost of transporting it more than 2000km,” Shell chairman Andrew Smith said.
Mr Smith estimated transporting gas would add “at least 30 per cent” to its price.
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But Victoria’s acting Resources Minister Phil Dalidakis said Shell’s claims were ridiculous.
“It is the decision of companies to export gas to Asia, rather than supply the domestic market, that is increasing prices, not the ban on fracking,” Mr Dalidakis said.
“We will continue to encourage development of Victoria’s offshore gas resources and gas storage to assist future supply and help mitigate price increases.”
Mr Dalidakis said unconventional onshore gas resources had not been proved.
The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association questioned the 2020 conventional gas ban, arguing it had been extracted safely for decades in Australia.
“Victorian customers can’t wait until 2020 for the State Government to find the political courage to reconsider allowing conventional gas exploration and development,” APPEA chief executive Malcolm Roberts said.
“Production from the offshore basins — the Gippsland, Otway and Bass basins — supplying Victoria is expected to peak this year and then fall. Experts forecast that production will fall by 15 per cent to 2020 and by 40 per cent to 2025.”
The anti-fracking and conventional gas moratorium legislation was introduced to the Victorian Parliament late last year.
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