Victoria's Opposition Favours Gas Production
Conventional gas exploration will be permitted in Victoria if the opposition coalition, led by Matthew Guy, is elected in November 2018; although there is some doubt about how much gas there actually is on shore.
Under his policy, landholders would receive a tenth of the royalties paid to the government and any new gas pumped would be reserved exclusively for Victorian use.
The Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) said it welcomed the Victorian opposition’s new commitment to onshore gas development, although adding that it still found its opposition to hydraulic fracturing "unscientific."
CEO Malcolm Roberts said the Liberal-National coalition’s new onshore gas policy marked a turning point in Victoria’s bipartisan rejection of local gas projects. "The Liberal-Nationals deserve credit for dropping their nonsensical opposition to conventional gas development,” he said.
“Unlike Labor, the opposition has recognised that Victoria has a gas supply problem and that more supply is desperately needed to put downward pressure on prices. The new Liberal Nationals’ policy is far from perfect: for example, it maintains an unscientific ban on unconventional gas," he said. But said that at least Guy and his team "have recognised that Victoria must do what it can to solve its own energy problems and have stepped away from policies that would damage Australia’s gas exports.”
Roberts said that Victoria faced a significant gas supply challenge with a forecast shortfall of 116 petajoules next year, as production from local offshore gas fields begins to decline.
He said that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) had warned that Victorian’s were already paying a 25% premium for their gas owing to the restrictions imposed by the Andrews Government.
“Victoria cannot continue to rely on other states to solve its gas supply issues. The state has abundant local onshore resources but would rather import gas from other states or, incredibly, from overseas,” he said.
William Powell