PlusSend to emailPrintGas prices to soar: reportStaff Reporter42...

PlusSend to emailPrintGas prices to soar: report
Staff Reporter42 min agoIndustriesResources and EnergyEast coast natural gas prices could be forced up to levels around five times the normal rate if coal seam gas export projects in Queensland are pushed to chase other supplies to meet contracts, The Australian reports.

Uncertainties over the amount of gas available at the three LNG projects in Gladstone and a recent lift in the Asian spot price to over $20 a gigajoule has seen analysts warn of the threat of local prices rising to about $18 a gigajoule, well above normal levels of $3-$4 a gigajoule.

"If an LNG plant has the opportunity to supply spot cargoes at $US20 (per million British thermal units), or if it is short of supply and would otherwise need to buy spot cargoes, it would be willing to pay up to $17.67 per gigajoule at Gladstone," Graeme Bethune, chief executive of consultancy firm EnergyQuest, said, according to The Australian.

While EnergyQuest says a price spike of such a magnitude will be short-lived, it will prove disruptive to major gas consumers.

It is not the first time fears have been raised over east coast gas prices, but most forecasts have tipped prices to double.