OIES Podcast – Is Australia quietly quitting the LNG business?
In this latest OIES podcast, brought to you by the Gas Research Programme, James Henderson talks to Graeme Bethune about his latest paper entitled “Is Australia quietly quitting the LNG business?”. The podcast starts with an overview of the Australian gas market, considering the main areas of domestic demand and the key production sites, including the major LNG export projects. The discussion then moves onto concerns that the Australian government may be starting to prioritise domestic supply over exports, a topic that has been raised by customers in Japan. A key catalyst for this debate was the East Cost energy crisis in June 2022, which raised issues of availability of gas and high prices for domestic customers. The Australian government has given reassurances that it will not undermine export sales, but the long-term future of the LNG export business has also been called into question by the slowing of exploration activity and supplier concerns that the market for gas could be undermined by decarbonisation in Australia and Asia. As a result, a combination of domestic policy and slowing international demand could see Australian LNG exports go into gradual decline by the end of this decade, with the risk that further domestic energy crises could cause interruptions before then.
