OIES Podcast – Issues in the Australian Gas Market

In this latest OIES podcast, from the Gas Programme, James Henderson talks to Graeme Bethune about his latest paper on the Australian gas market and the policy failures that have led to concerns over whether there is sufficient supply for domestic customers, especially on the East Coast. After a brief introduction on the structure of the market, Graeme outlines the key state and federal policies which have led to mismatches of supply and demand in NSW and Victoria, where the regulatory burden has meant that upstream investment has been significantly delayed. Queensland has provided a source of imports but also have export priorities via its LNG plants and has been reluctant to divert extra supply south to states where environmental and other lobby groups have slowed new fossil fuel development. Ironically, this has now led to coal plants being kept open and talk of LNG import terminals to balance energy demand. Meanwhile other Australian states continue to pursue gas supply options at different paces, highlighting the contradictions in a country where state governments have as much if not more power than the federal government on many energy issues.

By: OIES