On holiday so missed this one - bon swar. Shell flags Sydney LNG...

On holiday so missed this one - bon swar.

Shell flags Sydney LNG imports

• THE AUSTRALIAN
• 10:06AM JUNE 6, 2016
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• Matt Chambers
  
  Resources reporter
  Melbourne
  

Botany LNG Terminal. Supplied
Shell Australia chairman Andrew Smith has raised the prospect of Sydney importing its natural gas as LNG in order to overcome looming tightness in the gas market that is being exacerbated by restrictions around onshore gas production.
The flagging of a Port Botany regasification terminal comes as east coast gas prices are set to rise as Gladstone export projects ramp up and Japan’s Inpex says it will investigate whether east coast prices will actually justify piping gas from their Ichthys field off the Kimberley coast through Darwin to the east.
It also comes less than a decade after Eastern Star Gas investigated exporting gas from its Narrabri project, now owned by Santos, from Newcastle.
“If we choose not to act on declining gas fields, the idea of constructing a re-gas terminal in Port Botany may fast become a viable alternative for the industry,” Mr Smith said in a speech to the Australian Petroleum and Production Association conference in Brisbane today.
“In the current climate, I could see the rationale for such a suggestion — as LNG prices are historically low and pricing structures for pipeline capacity limit gas flow,” he said, but noted the benefits could outweigh the costs and that it could impact the functioning of the gas market.
“Of course, importing gas from Curtis Island or PNG LNG would come at a cost to customers — particularly if LNG prices recovered to anywhere near 2013 levels.”

• MORE:WA gas could be piped to the east

The potential upfront cost of importing LNG has dropped dramatically in recent years, with $2 billion “regasification” import terminals able to be replaced with floating storage regasification units (FSRU), which are converted tankers that cost less than $US200 million.
The prospect was raised in relation to NSW and Victorian policies that restrict access to onshore gas resources.