Media release 3 October 2023 Future Gas Strategy recognises net...

Media release
3 October 2023
Future Gas Strategy recognises net zero role and urgent need for new supply
The Australian Government’s Future Gas Strategy consultation paper highlights the urgent need for investment
in new gas supply to avoid future shortfalls and underpin the net zero transformation in Australia and the region.
Australian Energy Producers today said the release of the paper kick-started an important process in planning
future gas supply to ensure energy security and affordability for households and businesses.
Highlighting the need for investment in new gas supply, the paper reveals new analysis showing future gas
demand will outstrip supply in the east and west coast gas markets to 2034 and 2032 respectively.
Australian Energy Producers Chief Executive Samantha McCulloch said the paper recognised the growing role
of gas as a partner to renewables in electricity, as a feedstock to Australian manufacturing and industry, the
need for carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technology, as well as the importance of gas exports to
Australia and the region.
“Gas is the safety net for our energy system and the key to providing reliable and affordable energy to
households and businesses as we transform for net zero,” she said. “The paper underscores the urgency of
supporting investment in new gas supply to avoid shortages. This must include a focus on ensuring regulatory
approvals processes that are robust and efficient”.
Ms McCulloch said the Strategy was an important vehicle to highlight the significant contribution the gas industry
makes to the economy, our way of life and its role in delivering net zero.
“The paper confirms that Australian households and industry will be relying on gas for decades,” she said. “This
is not just about the gas industry but the whole economy given the importance of gas to sectors such as
manufacturing and mining where tens of thousands of jobs rely on stable and affordable gas supply.
“The Strategy must recognise the many variables that will determine future gas demand and ensure Australia is
able to capture the economic, energy security and emissions reduction opportunities of the sector and those
industries that rely on gas.”
Ms McCulloch said it was important the Strategy examine CCUS to decarbonise gas production and hard-to
abate sectors and the emerging opportunities for low-carbon hydrogen.
“The gas industry’s roles in CCUS and low-carbon hydrogen will be drivers towards net zero,” she said.
Media Contact: Patrick Lion on 0435 113 224
About Australian Energy Producers
Australian Energy Producers is the peak body of the explorers, developers and producers of essential

Worth read

rogerd