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The Australian government has reached new agreements with major gas exporters to ensure sufficient gas supplies for the domestic market in 2023.
On September 29, Resources Minister Madeleine King announced the new chiefs agreement After weeks of negotiations, with several major gas companies
Under the new contract, uncontracted gas will be initially offered to Australian buyers with reasonable supply terms to prevent shortages in the domestic market.
In addition, liquefied natural gas exporters will supply an additional 157 petajoules (1 petajoule is 278 gigawatt hours) to the domestic market in 2023.
This figure is almost triple the amount of gas (56 petajoules) that the domestic market is expected to fall short of in 2023, previously forecast by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
King said the agreement also ensured that Australian customers would not pay more for uncontracted gas than international buyers.
“This agreement will ensure that Australians continue to have access to safe and reliable gas.” she said.
“The new supply commitments and agreements will supply gas to the domestic market when needed and ensure that future uncontracted gas will be offered to the domestic market first.”
King also said he meets with gas exporters on a quarterly basis to ensure they are delivering on their promises and following the code of conduct specified in their contracts.
New agreement no longer allows ministers to pull gas triggers
When the negotiations ended, the minister said there was no need to pull the trigger on Australia’s domestic gas supply mechanism, which would limit exports and require companies to find new gas sources.
before signing the contract Ambassador of Japan Exports to Australia reportedly warned that a decline in gas exports to Japan due to activation of the mechanism would affect relations between the two countries.
Mr King said the new deal would not affect the supply of Australian gas to international markets or the contracts already in place.
“This is a great result for Australia, strengthening confidence in the domestic gas market and protecting our global reputation as a stable and reliable energy exporter to our regional partners,” she said.
Gas shortages in several Australian states this year threaten to drag the country into an energy crisis after many coal-fired power plants unexpectedly went offline.
In June, Australians in Queensland and New South Wales were forced to step in after Australian energy market operators stepped in and forced energy companies to continue producing and selling electricity despite rising gas prices. We narrowly avoided a widespread blackout.
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Alfred Bui is an Australian reporter based in Melbourne, focusing on local and business news. He is a former small business owner and holds his two master’s degrees in business and business law. Please contact [email protected].
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