ExxonMobil Australia’s commercial director David Berman on Tuesday warned the Gippsland Basin assets that the company jointly owns with Woodside were set to shrink 70 per cent on 2010 levels by next winter. In a speech at the Australian Domestic Gas Outlook conference in Sydney,he called on governments to reduce the onerous regulatory approval requirements and timelines impeding new gas-drilling programs that could offset the declines.
“Leaving Australian gas in the ground does nothing to help ensure supply will be sufficient to meet demand,put downward pressure on prices or secure the economic and emissions reduction benefits of natural gas,” he said.
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Australia’s enduring reliance on gas – a major source of greenhouse gas emissions that are dangerously heating the planet – has come into sharper focus as governments step up commitments to decarbonise.
In Victoria,where more than 2 million homes and businesses still use gas,the state government has banned gas hook-ups in new homes and is developing a program to encourage people to switch their gas-based appliances to electric alternatives.
However,AEMO and energy producers warn those declines in usage would not happen fast enough to avoid shortfalls.
“Without investment,ExxonMobil Australia estimates by 2030 domestic gas supply available to southern states will decrease by 44 per cent,more than four times the most credible forecast reduction in southern state gas consumption of 10 per cent,” Berman said.