Industry newsWestern Australia has urged the Commonwealth to...

Industry news

Western Australia has urged the Commonwealth to flexits “use it or lose it” powerson energy giants holding rights for several majoroffshore gas fields, as the industry claims the Albanese government’spolicies are driving away international investment.

Warnings of a looming gas shortage in WA prompted the state’senergy minister to write to his federal counterparts suggesting severalretention licences on major fields off the WA coast not be extended, which wouldforce the titleholders to develop the assets or lose them within a five-yeartimeframe.

The WA premier is urging gas giants to develop their unused fields off the state’s north-west.

As gas companies come under increasing pressure todevelop their assets off the WA coast, Australian Energy Producers chiefexecutive Samantha McCulloch blamed the Albanese government’s policy settingsfor scaring off international investment and slowing progress.

“Recent federal policy decisions and interventions havedamaged investor confidence and Australia’s international reputation as areliable energy partner,”she told The Australian Financial Review.

“The new gas supply urgently needed to supportAustralia’s energy transformation can only be unlocked with regulatory certaintyso businesses can invest with confidence in new projects.”

While the federal and state governments have refused toexplicitly name which companies were the subject of a push for development ofunused fields, both Chevron and Santos hold licences on gas fieldsoff the WA coast that have an application for retention “pending”.

WA Premier Roger Cook said on Sunday that while it was upto his federal counterparts to decide whether to extend retention licences tocompanies that were yet to develop offshore assets, he wanted to ensure hisstate’s energy security was maintained.

“We can only do that if we continue to have a good supplyof gas,” he said. “New gas supplies are important, and we’re encouraging all ofthose companies that have licences to exploit those gas fields to do so.”

Major domestic manufacturers of chemicals, fertilisersand aluminium in WA are relying on a consistent supply of gas to continueoperating.The state government’s vision for more local downstream processing ofcriticalminerals also depends on viable energy supply.

During an inquiry into the state’s gas policy settingslast week, former WA resources minister Bill Johnston said when he was in theministerial role, he wrote to the Commonwealth urging it to push the operatorsfrom retention to production licences, putting a five-year deadline ontheir uses of the fields.

Mr Johnston, who is acting chairman of the inquiry, saidthere had “never been a better economic opportunity than right now” to developgas assets, and questioned Ms McCulloch as to how they could be more viable in15 years if a retention licence was granted.

“That would be a big help for us because otherwise we arejust left with one field, Browse, to solve our problems,” he said, referring tothe development of the offshore gas fields.

A spokesman for the WA Mines and Petroleum Minister DavidMichael, who replaced Mr Johnston late last year, confirmed severalretention lease renewals were under consideration by a joint state andCommonwealth authority.

“The WA government is committed to ensuring thatresources are developed within the parameters set by the Offshore Petroleum andGreenhouse Gas Storage Act to ensure the supply of gas for export and domesticuse,” he said.

A spokesman for Federal Resources Minister Madeleine Kingsaid the government would not provide commentary on offshore title decisions.

“The Australian government is considering how the currentoffshore petroleum regime could be improved to deliver on the objectives of theFuture Gas Strategy,”the spokesman said.