Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association's Damian Dwyer on gas supplies and opportunities in the NT

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Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association's Damian Dwyer on gas supplies and opportunities in the NT · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: We know that the Resources A Northern Australia Minister Madeline
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  Speaker 1: King has opened consultations, she said yesterday, on ways to
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  Speaker 1: improve the operations of the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism
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  Speaker 1: to strengthen Australia's domestic energy supply and has released a
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  Speaker 1: discussion paper on the reform options. Now it does, indeed, well,
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  Speaker 1: it does indeed come after the A Triple C released
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  Speaker 1: a report yesterday really saying that Australia well is facing
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  Speaker 1: alarming gas shortfalls in twenty twenty three, That is according
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  Speaker 1: to the A Triple C, as they urge producers to
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  Speaker 1: keep supplies on shore. Now joining me on the line
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  Speaker 1: to talk further about the situation is the APIA Acting
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  Speaker 1: Chief Executive Damien Dowaire. Good morning to you, Damien morning.
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  Speaker 1: How are you very well?
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  Speaker 2: Now?
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  Speaker 1: Damien, we know that this report from the A Triple C.
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  Speaker 1: It came out yesterday and there is concern that for
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty three we are not going to have domes
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  Speaker 1: gas supplies required around the East coast. From your perspective,
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  Speaker 1: is the industry doing the right thing by Australians here?
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  Speaker 1: Do we have enough gas in Australia to make sure
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  Speaker 1: that we are able to keep those on the East
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  Speaker 1: coast with power.
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  Speaker 2: Well, yes, three question and the answer is yes, we do.
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  Speaker 2: What the hb'll see report found is that there is
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  Speaker 2: one hundred and sixty seven pedigules and I'll come back
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  Speaker 2: to that in a second of uncontracted gas available for
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  Speaker 2: supply into domestic market, and that is more significantly more
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  Speaker 2: than what they characterize as shortfall. So there's plenty of
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  Speaker 2: gas available for the domestic market, there's plenty of gas
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  Speaker 2: available for the export market. And so it's about the
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  Speaker 2: industry coming together with the government to make sure that happens.
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  Speaker 2: And that's the process that started yesterday by the Resources Minister,
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  Speaker 2: and that's something that we'll work through with and the
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  Speaker 2: government more broadly over the next few weeks.
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  Speaker 1: Has there been you know, has there been a situation
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  Speaker 1: in Australia though, where our gas industry is indeed exporting
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  Speaker 1: that gas to other locations around the world rather than
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  Speaker 1: keeping enough reserves for us here.
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  Speaker 2: So we've had a circlus into the domestic market each
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  Speaker 2: and every year, and that's come thrue from each of
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  Speaker 2: the previous eleven HRC reports and other sports that have
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  Speaker 2: been done. So we've never been in a situation there's
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  Speaker 2: been an actual thoughtfall, and that's not going to happen
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  Speaker 2: next year either. What the report does is providing an
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  Speaker 2: early signal to the market, to the industry about the
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  Speaker 2: need for us to come together. And that's as I mentioned,
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  Speaker 2: that's what we're doing with the Minister now, we'll be
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  Speaker 2: doing over the next few weeks.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I know that she has essentially put gas producers,
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  Speaker 1: she says on notice that the federal government intends to
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  Speaker 1: pull the gas trigger to restrict exports unless it can
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  Speaker 1: be proven that the nation does not face that gas shortfall.
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  Speaker 1: So it does sound as though you feel pretty confident
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  Speaker 1: that the industry is going to be able to prove
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  Speaker 1: that there's not a short fall.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, And the first step in that process, the minister
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  Speaker 2: outline yesterday is a couple of weeks of engagement with
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  Speaker 2: the industry where we go through exactly those issues. And
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  Speaker 2: so it will be up to us, but the opportunity
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  Speaker 2: is there now for us to engage constructively with the
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  Speaker 2: Minister and the government more broadly to go through that process.
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  Speaker 2: And so that's exactly what we're going to do. And
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  Speaker 2: I am confident that coming out of that will be
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  Speaker 2: a good understanding we're at and a good joint position
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  Speaker 2: on the way forward. So we're looking forward to those
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  Speaker 2: conversations Dave's commenced, and we're looking forward to them continuing
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  Speaker 2: over the next month and then beyond that.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Damien, I know that a lot of Territorians are
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  Speaker 1: going to be listening this morning and thinking to themselves,
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  Speaker 1: does the be Toloo Basin have a part to play
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  Speaker 1: in this discussion?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and again a good question, and the short answer
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  Speaker 2: is yes, potentially. The HBC set out essentially for basic
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  Speaker 2: responses that are possible to bring more gas to the market.
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  Speaker 2: The key one is the one that we've spoken about,
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  Speaker 2: is that uncontracted gas find displaying to the market. There's
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  Speaker 2: gas in storage that can come out of come out
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  Speaker 2: of storage and feed into the market in the short term.
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  Speaker 2: And then there's new developments and so there's either new
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  Speaker 2: developments on the East coast or there's new developments from
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  Speaker 2: other places, and one of those other places is the
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  Speaker 2: bea Toloo Basin. So that possibility is there. The HBC
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  Speaker 2: have themselves set it out as one of the three
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  Speaker 2: or four responses that might be possible. So yes, it
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  Speaker 2: does provide an opportunity to go forward to bring gas
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  Speaker 2: into the domestic market.
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  Speaker 1: Now, when you talk about those new developments, is an
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  Speaker 1: audn territory sort of further along with the be Toloo Basin,
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  Speaker 1: then what some of those other new developments around the
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  Speaker 1: rest of the nation are.
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  Speaker 2: It's further along than some, but not as far along
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  Speaker 2: as others. So if I can put it this way,
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  Speaker 2: the Narrowbrye project in New South Wales, it's in quite
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  Speaker 2: an advanced state. It's going through an environmental approval process,
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  Speaker 2: but there are others that are further behind. So the
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  Speaker 2: BLA who probably sits somewhere in the middle if I
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  Speaker 2: can put it that way, of the possible supply option.
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  Speaker 2: So it's not an immediate term option, but is an
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  Speaker 2: important part of future supply. And what the report, amongst
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  Speaker 2: other things, are shown is the ongoing and enduring demand
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  Speaker 2: that we see for gas and so projects or potential
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  Speaker 2: developments and where it's still at the potential development stage
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  Speaker 2: with the bea Looo becomes quite important over time.
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  Speaker 1: Now there is obviously some people wondering just how much
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  Speaker 1: gas there is in the b Toloo Basin. Rob from
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  Speaker 1: Winnelli has messaged through and he's one wondering how it compares,
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  Speaker 1: you know, to other sources around Australia and around the world.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's an interesting it's an interesting state that we're
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  Speaker 2: at right now. So the potential that's been identified, and
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  Speaker 2: potential is a very important word I'll come back to
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  Speaker 2: that is very large and world world scale large. So
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  Speaker 2: there is potentially a very significant resource there. But I
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  Speaker 2: say potential because there's still expiration to be done to
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  Speaker 2: firm up and confirm that potential, if I can put
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  Speaker 2: it that way. So there's a little bit of an
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  Speaker 2: unknown to it at the moment and that work, as
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  Speaker 2: is the case with expiration around the nation, around the world,
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  Speaker 2: it is important to be able to do that expiration
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  Speaker 2: to firm up what you think is there. But if
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  Speaker 2: what people thinks there is there, then there is a
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  Speaker 2: very world scale resource available in the build of well.
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  Speaker 1: And obviously there is environmental concerns. There have been you know,
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  Speaker 1: people who've spoken around the territory on this show as
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  Speaker 1: well at different times about those environmental concerns. But there
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  Speaker 1: is indeed a number of measures at the gas industry
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  Speaker 1: and that those that are going through that exploration process
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  Speaker 1: need to actually do before they're able to really start
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  Speaker 1: getting to that point where we're exporting gas.
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  Speaker 2: That's right. And one of the very key things that
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  Speaker 2: we went through a couple of years ago is the
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  Speaker 2: Pepper Inquiry where it went through in very significant detail
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  Speaker 2: the prospects for the development of the industry in the
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  Speaker 2: territory and what would need to take place so regultary
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  Speaker 2: developments alongside that, and it made well over one hundred
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  Speaker 2: recommendations and the Northern Territory government and the industry i know,
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  Speaker 2: has committed to moving forward on each of every one
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  Speaker 2: of those recommendations before the industry moves forward. So yes,
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  Speaker 2: there's quite a significant regultory regime that sits around the
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  Speaker 2: exploration side of the industry, and there'll be even more
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  Speaker 2: significant and very regultary regime that would sit around any
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  Speaker 2: developments as they move forward. And so you know, we're
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  Speaker 2: very keen and working right now with the territory government
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  Speaker 2: and with stakeholders to work through those issues. And so
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  Speaker 2: that's a very key focus for the industry right now.
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  Speaker 1: Damian. Where are things ash at the moment with Sabidlu
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  Speaker 1: and how far away are we you know, from seeing
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  Speaker 1: gas flowing.
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  Speaker 2: So I trying to answer that second question that it's
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  Speaker 2: going to depend a little bit on the success of
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  Speaker 2: the expiration activities that are underway. But those expiration activities
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  Speaker 2: are underway, so if they're successful, then there'll be a
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  Speaker 2: commercial decision making process to go through, and then obviously,
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  Speaker 2: as I mentioned, there'll be that environmental approval, regulatory regime,
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  Speaker 2: all those sorts of issues to work through. So gas
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  Speaker 2: on and flotmarro but gas can be brought into the
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  Speaker 2: market in the next couple of years, and that's the
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  Speaker 2: process that the industry is on right now. But getting
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  Speaker 2: on the ground, exploring and hopefully securing that there are
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  Speaker 2: significant resources on the ground, that's the bible first step
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  Speaker 2: and that's what's underlay at the moment.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and there is always that argument, you know, that
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  Speaker 1: we should be going to renewables, and I know that
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  Speaker 1: the argument from some has been that we shouldn't be
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  Speaker 1: sort of developing these new areas like the b Toloo,
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  Speaker 1: we should be going with renewables. But I mean, are
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  Speaker 1: we there yet, Damien?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think what we've seen, particularly on the East
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  Speaker 2: coast over the last couple of weeks, has been the
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  Speaker 2: very important role that gas canon does play that's both
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  Speaker 2: in providing long term energy security but also complementing the
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  Speaker 2: work of renewables. So we don't have a view that
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  Speaker 2: renewables and the gas industry are in competition, quite the opposite,
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  Speaker 2: that are in fact sold compliments to each other, and
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  Speaker 2: that as renewables plays a growing an even more important
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  Speaker 2: role in energy supply across the nation, including potentially in
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  Speaker 2: the territory, that gas will continue to have a very
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  Speaker 2: important role to play in firming up variable renewable sources
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  Speaker 2: and working alongside the industry. So we see them as
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  Speaker 2: we see them as working together, and the importance of
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  Speaker 2: them working together is going to grow, as on the
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  Speaker 2: East Coast, for example, could firepower generation the tithes over time,
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  Speaker 2: both renewables and games step into that space.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Damien Dewire, the APR acting Chief Executive, I really
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  Speaker 1: appreciate your time this morning. Thanks very much for having
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  Speaker 1: a chat with us.
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  Speaker 2: No problem to all, great to chat.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you.