News & Media

24 April 2023.

Concerns about an investment freeze have forced the government to backflip over its plan to impose a “reasonable price” limit on east coast gas producers, but it has failed to restore industry confidence for new ventures. The decision grants automatic exemptions from the cap to smaller producers and may unlock paused investments – including Senex Energy’s $1 billion Atlas project in Queensland backed by billionaire Gina Rinehart. “The policy guidelines as they stand are not going to foster supply investment in most instances, especially from the key supply areas in Bass Strait and Queensland.” Still, industrial energy users described the proposal as “a welcome step in the right direction”, saying it struck a better balance of power in gas supply negotiations between gas producers and buyers.

The outgoing and outspoken Japanese ambassador to Australia, Shingo Yamagami, has warned in a departure interview that “sover- eign risk” is now an active concern among Japan’s corporates and energy companies which fear the reliability of Australia as an energy supplier. “There shouldn’t be any mis- understanding as to the depths of concern held by Japanese companies because on repeated occasions those concerns have been conveyed to the Australian government.” the ambassador told The Australian.

COAL has proven resilient in uncertain times and there is now widespread belief that it will continue to provide the nation’s baseload power and economic growth – barring a black swan event such as a financial crisis or a war with our major trading partner, China. In a week in which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the eye-watering $368 billion cost of eight nuclear submarines, it should be remembered that tax on coal and iron ore exporters are two of the main drivers of government revenue. The coal mining industry does not operate in a vacuum and must keep maintaining steady and safe production of high-quality coal to global and regional markets despite any financial or geopolitical noise if it wishes to remain Australia's king of exporters. 

Queensland’s LNG exporters may need to divert gas to domestic customers to head off a shortfall in the southern states this winter and even then, shortages may occur, the Australian Energy Market Operator has warned, sharpening the focus on the crisis in the east coast market.The market operator said in its 20-year gas supply and demand outlook for the east coast that under any scenario, investment was needed in gas development on the east coast. But it highlighted many factors posing challenges for new projects, including the federal government’s intervention into the market through price caps and ongoing price regulation, which has caused several projects to stall. Senex Energy, owned by South Korea’s Posco and Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, has put on ice its proposed $1 billion Atlas project in Queensland, while Cooper Energy has delayed a go-ahead to expand its Otway gas project off Victoria.

Australia will ship more coal, gas and critical minerals to India under government plans to expand upon more than $24 billion in annual exports when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visits three Indian cities this week after years of friction with China over trade and security. The stronger strategic relationship is tipped to lead to more investment in Australian resources including lithium at a time when countries are racing to secure supplies to manufacture batteries and electric vehicles – a key objective for India this decade.Resources Minister Madeleine King, who will join the prime minister on the trip, said the Indian government was showing “great interest” in Australian critical minerals as part of its plan to lift the share of renewable energy in its economy.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says additional gas exploration will be critical to Australia’s energy transition. Speaking in Sydney on Tuesday, Mr Albanese said gas would play a “key role” in the country’s push to greener energy and was a needed firming fuel source for businesses, while options like hydrogen remain more than a decade away.

THE Perth Basin has rapidly become the state’s hottest asset, and businesses near the action have ambitious plans for investment. Billions of dollars of investment could be in the pipeline for Perth Basin as the state faces a crippling gas shortage within a decade. Three months and an extended bidding war later, the landscape of the basin has shifted substantially. Mrs Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting marched into a majority stake of Warrego in February.

17 February 2023. Ambassador to Japan expresses energy concerns.