Australia Institute research has shown that there is no shortage of gas in Australia, in either the short or medium term, and that it is gas exports that are putting pressure on domestic supply.
Continued attempts by the gas industry to claim a domestic shortage while expanding gas exports show that there is no shortage of either gas or corporate greed from the sector.
Key Findings:
- Australia is one of the biggest exporters of gas in the world, alongside Qatar and the USA.
- Around 80% of Australia's gas is exported as liquefied natural gas (LNG).
- 90% of the gas processed in WA is either exported as LNG or used in LNG export processing.
- Over half (56%) of gas exported from Australia attracts zero royalty payments, effectively giving a public resource to multinational corporations for free.
"The gas industry is talking out both sides of its mouth - it is saying there will be domestic shortages if we don't start opening up new gas fields, while at the same time advocating to expand export facilities like the North West Shelf proposal," said Rod Campbell, Research Director at the Australia Institute.
"We produce, burn and export a staggering amount of gas in this country. The gas industry itself is the biggest user of gas in Australia due to the gas it burns to process LNG exports. To suggest there will be a gas shortage is absurd.
"The fact of the matter is that we have allowed multinational gas companies to take us for a ride by giving them our resources tax-free and exporting unsustainable volumes of gas.
"Approving new export capacity, such as the North West Shelf's 50-year extension, simply doesn't make sense as it would undermine domestic supply.
"When facing a genuine resource shortage, the usual first step is to reduce usage, but that is far from what's happening here.
"Tax-shy multinational corporations have been driving up the cost of gas in Australia by forcing us to bid against the international market for our own resources.
"Unsurprisingly, the gas industry says the answer to this so-called crisis is to subsidise them into producing more gas, mostly for export.
"There is no shortage of gas or profits for the gas industry in Australia. The only shortage is taxes paid to the Australian public for the exploitation of Australia's natural resources."
