2011

Energy White Paper an opportunity to deliver competitive, secure, reliable and cleaner energy

Tuesday, 13 December 2011

The draft Energy White Paper states that one of the country’s key energy priorities is: “developing Australia’s critical energy resources – particularly Australia’s gas resources.” APPEA welcomes this recognition but says several draft White Paper proposals specific to the upstream oil and gas industry must be carefully considered.

 
 

ABC website investigation widens - more errors & bias uncovered

Monday, 12 December 2011

The ABC’s “data journalism” website “Coal Seam Gas: By the Numbers” has been referred to ABC Managing Director Mark Scott for further investigation after more than 30 additional serious factual errors and instances of bias were found in an ongoing analysis of the site. APPEA’s Chief Executive, David Byers, said: “These errors are in some cases simply due to carelessness but in other instances the site displays a bias that misleads and misinforms the ABC audience.”

To view APPEA's detailed analysis of the ABC's Coal Seam Gas: By the Numbers website, click HERE

 
 

Queensland Wild Rivers declaration

Monday, 12 December 2011

The peak body representing Australia’s oil and gas industry is concerned by both the Queensland Government’s declarations of Wild River areas in the Lake Eyre Basin, and the process by which the decision was reached.

 
 

Fraccing moratorium bad news for NSW

Monday, 05 December 2011

The NSW Government’s continuation of its fraccing moratorium is a bad decision for the state, economically and environmentally. APPEA will today start advertising throughout rural and metropolitan press to highlight the opportunities being put at risk.

To see a sample ad, click here.

 
 

Senate committee interim report on CSG

Wednesday, 30 November 2011

An interim report from the Senate’s Rural Affairs and Transport References Committee on the impact of coal seam gas extraction on the management of the Murray Darling Basin has been largely overtaken by events. APPEA’s Chief Operating Officer – Eastern Australia, Rick Wilkinson, said: “The report and a number of the issues raised are being addressed by industry and independent studies, government policy or regulation.”

 
 

New APPEA Chairman and 2011-12 Board directors

Monday, 28 November 2011

APPEA's Board is pleased to announce the election of David Knox (Santos) as Chairman and Rob Cole (Woodside) as Vice Chairman.

 
 

New ABC website on CSG: Embarrassing factual errors to be subject of formal complaint

Friday, 25 November 2011

A new ABC website, based on what is being referred to as “data journalism”, is riddled with factual errors and will today be referred to ABC Managing Director Mark Scott for immediate investigation. APPEA is seeking clarification regarding how the site Coal Seam Gas: By the Numbers could have been launched without the proper checking of facts, calculations, or claims made.

 
 

Policy inaction will reduce community and government returns

Thursday, 24 November 2011

APPEA has released its State of the industry 2011 report, which concludes that increasing costs and inefficient approvals processes will, if not addressed, severely reduce the returns to the Australian community from its petroleum resources.

 
 

Clarity needed on new CSG regulation

Tuesday, 22 November 2011
APPEA is seeking a seat at the table as the details are thrashed out regarding yesterday’s announced intervention into coal seam gas (CSG) regulation by the Federal Government. APPEA Chief Executive, David Byers, said: “We are very keen to ensure any new federal approach complements, rather than duplicates, the existing extensive state-based regulation of our industry.”
 
 

CSG freeze would be cold comfort for NSW

Thursday, 17 November 2011

The NSW coal seam gas industry could make a major contribution to the state’s economy by producing 12 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas, according to an ACIL Tasman study released today.

 
 

Carbon pricing legislation

Tuesday, 08 November 2011

APPEA Chief Executive, David Byers said: “The legislation passed today represents an addition to the cost structure of Australian LNG exporters competing in global markets. There is no global carbon price in operation.  So while natural gas will be more competitive as an energy source for domestic power generation, Australia is imposing a cost on its industry that will not be borne by its major LNG competitors. This will diminish its international competitive standing.”

 
 

Life cycle emissions study confirms CSG greenhouse benefit

Friday, 04 November 2011

APPEA has released an independent study outlining the greenhouse gas benefits associated with Australia expanding its (CSG) industry. Produced by the global engineering consultancy WorleyParsons, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study of Australian CSG to LNG provides a life cycle comparison of the greenhouse gas emissions of Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) derived from CSG and imported black coal, from extraction and processing in Australia to combustion in China for power generation.

 
 

WA onshore gas industry sets high operating standards

Thursday, 03 November 2011

Western Australian onshore gas explorers have adopted a code of practice to set industry standards for the State’s next generation of clean energy production.

 
 

Release of petroleum tax legislation gives clearer picture of proposed changes

Wednesday, 02 November 2011

The Petroleum Resource Rent Tax is to be extended to onshore oil and gas production and it is essential that the Government understands that the PRRT's current provisions cannot simply be extended to a new range of companies. The onshore industry is different from the offshore sector and the new PRRT arrangements should not impose an additional administrative burden on the industry.

 
 

Horse-trading brings uncertainty when economy can least afford it

Tuesday, 01 November 2011

Regulatory decisions driven by pure politics deliver bad policy, harm the economy, and set a dangerous precedent. At a time of increasing economic uncertainty, the decision of independent MP Tony Windsor to make his support for the Government’s MRRT contingent upon a federal takeover of the states’ regulation of the resources sector only creates more uncertainty.

 
 

More false claims to Senate Inquiry from anti-gas campaigners

Wednesday, 12 October 2011

Activist group ‘Lock the Gate’ has once again been loose with the truth. The submission from the group’s president, Drew Hutton, to the Federal Senate inquiry into the management of the Murray Darling Basin contains numerous inaccuracies and misrepresentations.

 

 
 

Gas industry welcomes new Queensland land use policy

Tuesday, 27 September 2011

The Queensland Government policy announced today for managing resource development on prime agricultural land is a timely acknowledgment that well designed gas operations can coexist with agriculture without impacting long term productivity.

 
 

False submissions to parliamentary inquiries should be ignored

Wednesday, 21 September 2011

Submissions to two parliamentary inquiries by the activist group ‘Lock the Gate’ should be disregarded after the group conceded its work was inaccurate and misleading. The submissions include text copied (and unreferenced) from a study of the American shale gas industry, with the words “coal seam gas” substituted for “shale gas”.

 
 

APPEA submission highlights cost of curtailing gas expansion

Wednesday, 14 September 2011

Developing a strong NSW gas industry will reduce energy price hikes and cut greenhouse gas emissions, according to an ACIL Tasman study presented to the NSW Government today. APPEA’s Chief Operating Officer for Eastern Australia, Rick Wilkinson, said: “This report shows CSG can be an economic and environmental game-changer for NSW.”

 
 

NSW Budget shows CSG royalties and jobs needed more than ever

Tuesday, 06 September 2011
Today’s NSW Budget highlights the important role the coal seam gas industry can play in rebuilding the State’s financial position and achieving the Government's job creation target. New investment by the CSG industry will be critical if the NSW Government is to achieve its goal of restoring NSW’s position as the engine room of the Australian economy.
 
 

‘We want CSG’ campaign launched

Sunday, 04 September 2011
Australia’s coal seam gas producers have launched a major information campaign focusing on the investment, jobs, environmental benefits, and enormous opportunities that CSG generates. Produced by APPEA, the apolitical campaign will show how this industry is providing much-needed opportunities for NSW and Queensland regional communities at a time of economic insecurity.
 
 

Release of exposure draft petroleum resource rent tax legislation provides some clarity for industry

Friday, 26 August 2011

The Federal Government has released exposure draft legislation in relation to the 2010 decision to extend the petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT) to cover all petroleum production in Australia. APPEA urges the Government to ensure that onerous and inefficient administrative burdens are not placed on the many small companies operating in Australian onshore oil and gas.

 

 
 

Carbon pricing should be more efficient, less costly

Tuesday, 23 August 2011

In a submission on the Australian Government’s Clean Energy Legislative Package, APPEA has suggested a number of amendments to improve the proposed carbon pricing plan’s ability to meet Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets at least cost while also providing investment certainty.

 
 

Greenhouse gas emissions of coal seam gas

Thursday, 18 August 2011
A number of recent public assertions have sought to suggest the greenhouse gas emissions of coal seam gas (CSG) are worse than for conventional natural gas, because of fugitive emissions.  This is not true.
 
 

Senator Joyce wrong on CSG

Tuesday, 09 August 2011

Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce has today again unashamedly continued to misrepresent Australia’s system of mineral and resource ownership. CSG reserves are owned by the Crown – not the person owning the land under which they sit. It is governments that determine how Australia’s mineral and petroleum reserves are to be developed, and the return to be paid to the owners of the resource: the people of Australia.

 
 

Study shows gas industry to have little impact on Great Artesian Basin

Wednesday, 03 August 2011

An independent study conducted by the University of Southern Queensland and released today by APPEA) shows the coal seam gas industry will have little impact on either the Great Artesian Basin or the aquifers relied on by agriculture.

 

 
 

Sydney Morning Herald correction

Wednesday, 03 August 2011

APPEA rejects outright the blatantly incorrect comments on aquifer contamination attributed to it by the Sydney Morning Herald in its article: ‘Coal seam damage to water inevitable’. Contrary to the paper’s claims, neither the CSG industry, nor APPEA CSG Director Ross Dunn said: “(Water) extraction will inevitably contaminate aquifers”. APPEA does not “concede that extraction will inevitably contaminate aquifers”. This is a Sydney Morning Herald invention.

 

 
 

Appointment of APPEA CEO

Thursday, 28 July 2011

Eric Streitberg, Chairman of the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA), is delighted to announce the appointment of Mr David Byers as APPEA’s Chief Executive.

 
 

Greens again wrong on CSG

Friday, 22 July 2011
Contrary to the views of Senator Larissa Waters, the coal seam gas industry does not use BTEX, nor plan to use BTEX additives in producing natural gas. The CSG industry fully complies with the Queensland and NSW governments’ stated prohibition on the use of additives containing BTEX in CSG extraction. APPEA’s Director CSG, Ross Dunn, said: “It is irrelevant whether the ban has full legislative effect, as the intent is clear, and the industry is fully compliant with that intent. It is counterproductive for Senator Waters to cast aspersions on the industry’s good performance as part of her campaign to frighten people into thinking CSG extraction is an untried and untested process."
 
 

2009 re-run will not reduce emissions where most needed

Sunday, 10 July 2011

The Government’s carbon policy recognises the role that gas can play in reducing Australian greenhouse gas emissions. But it fails to recognise the importance of exported gas or to protect that sector's competitiveness. APPEA Chief Executive Belinda Robinson said: “There is no rational reason for a design that sees Australian gas use increase but exports constrained. It is a policy that risks driving emissions reductions in Australia at the expense of greater emission increases elsewhere in the world."

 

 
 

APPEA appoints Chief Operating Officer - Eastern Australia

Thursday, 23 June 2011

The Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) Chief Executive, Belinda Robinson, has appointed Rick Wilkinson to the new role of APPEA Chief Operating Officer - Eastern Australia.

 
 

Garnaut Final Report: a confused bet each way on gas

Tuesday, 31 May 2011

Professor Garnaut’s views on taxing the emissions of Australia’s export gas industry are confused and appear to be inconsistent with his long-held position that a properly designed carbon price mechanism will recognise the contribution LNG makes to global abatement efforts. APPEA Chief Executive Belinda Robinson said: “Professor Garnaut’s Final Report of his 2011 Review Update acknowledges the key role Australian natural gas can play in helping the world meet its climate policy objectives, yet attacks the industry’s principled policy position on carbon pricing.”

 
 

Industry welcomes moves to improve WA gas market

Thursday, 26 May 2011

APPEA has welcomed moves by WA Energy Minister Peter Collier to improve the operation of the state’s gas market. The Independent Market Operator body will run a Gas Bulletin Board (GBB) and develop a Gas Statement of Opportunities (GSOO) for WA. APPEA has long advocated such initiatives for increasing market transparency and liquidity.

 
 

Oil and gas industry welcomes responses to Montara, Productivity Commission reports

Wednesday, 25 May 2011
The Australian oil and gas industry has welcomed Australian Government responses to reports by the Productivity Commission and the Montara Commission of Inquiry. APPEA Chief Executive, Belinda Robinson, said: “Both of these reports have major implications for the oil and gas industry. “Industry and government need a strong understanding of what happened at Montara and what can be done to reduce the chance of a similar incident occurring ever again. We also need a more efficient regulatory regime that continues to attract vital investment in Australia’s oil and gas resources without compromising health, safety or environmental outcomes.”
 
 

Another world first for Australian LNG

Friday, 20 May 2011
APPEA has welcomed Shell Development Australia’s decision to proceed with its Prelude project, which will be the first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility in the world. APPEA Chief Executive, Belinda Robinson, said: “FLNG is a technological innovation of enormous significance. It will enable the development of gas deposits previously considered either too small or too far offshore to be developed commercially. The industry’s ability to develop these previously stranded resources will deliver substantial economic benefits to this country.”

 

 
 

Climate policy debate cannot be a 2009 re-run: APPEA

Monday, 16 May 2011

The Australian oil and gas industry says the political and commercial landscapes have changed significantly since the Australian Parliament last considered pricing carbon and this needs to be recognised in the treatment of Australia’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters.


 
 

Energy policy must encourage investment – not subsidies

Monday, 16 May 2011

Projections in Western Australia's Strategic Energy Initiative Directions Paper projections show forecast gas supply is sufficient to meet demand in coming years. The domestic gas reservation policy is not only unnecessary, it is counterproductive. Imposing a large economic cost on gas producers by requiring one industry to subsidise the input costs of others can only lead to less investment, less supply and higher gas costs in the longer term. Yet the Directions Paper seeks to retain mandatory domestic gas reservation in the absence of any evidence of market failure in relation to gas supply.

 


 
 

Skilled migration changes to underpin oil and gas expansion

Tuesday, 10 May 2011
The short-term workforce flexibility measures outlined in tonight’s Budget will underpin the continued expansion of Australia’s oil and gas investments and deliver even more employment and training opportunities for Australians. The 2011 Budget’s inclusion of a fast track migration initiative for large resource projects will see gas project proponents able to bring more skilled and semi-skilled workers to Australia to meet peak demand, while also ensuring long term jobs for Australians and increasing local training commitments.
 
 

Industry welcomes draft plans for south-west marine regions

Thursday, 05 May 2011
The Australian oil and gas industry welcomes the opportunity to continue working with the Government to establish new marine protected areas off Australia’s south-west coast. APPEA Chief Executive, Belinda Robinson, said: “The Australian Government’s release of a draft bioregional marine plan for the South West Marine Region and a draft network of National Representative Marine Protected Areas is an important step in providing certainty for a wide range of affected parties.”
 
 

APPEA Chief Executive

Thursday, 05 May 2011
APPEA Chairman Eric Streitberg has announced that APPEA Chief Executive Belinda Robinson will step down in mid July at the conclusion of her current contract term. “After six years as APPEA’s Chief Executive, Belinda has regrettably decided not to renew her contract when it expires in mid 2011,” Mr Streitberg said. “The APPEA Board has reluctantly accepted Belinda’s decision as she is doing an outstanding job for APPEA. Since she joined APPEA, membership has more than doubled and she has secured strong outcomes in a variety of areas, particularly in having natural gas acknowledged as the fuel of the future.”
 
 

Oil and gas industry standing together for safety

Monday, 02 May 2011

Aiming to further improve its safety performance, the Australian oil and gas industry has begun its third annual Stand Together for Safety event. Teams will stop work for two hours on a designated day in May to have a structured discussion about how safety can be improved in their workplace. The event facilitates discussions on safety between executives, senior managers and frontline workers. Industry-wide collaboration on this event aims to send a clear message that safety comes first and success in safety relies on all staff working together.

 
 

APPEA wins prestigious national conference award

Wednesday, 20 April 2011

APPEA is thrilled to have won a major national award for its 50th anniversary National Conference and Exhibition held in Brisbane last May. The winners of the 2010 Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) National Awards were announced at a gala dinner at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre last night attended by about 1000 conference and event industry professionals. APPEA won the national award for best Association or Government Meeting of the Year. APPEA Chief Executive, Belinda Robinson, said: “This award recognises the experience, talent and dedication of the APPEA staff in ensuring that the annual APPEA conference is the best it can possibly be.”

 
 

Harry Butler wins APPEA award

Tuesday, 12 April 2011
APPEA has awarded its Lewis G Weeks Gold Medal to veteran environmental consultant and advocate Dr Harry Butler. Announcing the award at the APPEA 2011 Conference dinner, APPEA Chairman Eric Streitberg said the medal recognised Dr Butler’s major contribution to the industry’s environmental management practices.
 
 

Chevron wins APPEA Environment Award

Monday, 11 April 2011
Chevron Australia has won an APPEA Environment Award for its quarantine program at the Gorgon liquefied natural gas project. Announcing the awards in Perth at the APPEA 2011 Conference & Exhibition, APPEA Chairman Eric Streitberg said Chevron – the operator of the Gorgon project – had set what could be a new standard for excellence in quarantine management.
 
 

2011 APPEA Safety Awards

Monday, 11 April 2011
APPEA Safety Awards winners, ConocoPhillips and Beach Energy, have shown that demanding work programs and improvements in safety standards can be successfully delivered in tandem. Presenting the awards at the APPEA 2011 Conference, APPEA Chairman Eric Streitberg noted that in 2010 the Australian oil and gas industry recorded its lowest-ever lost-time injury frequency rate, posting a 23% improvement from 2009. “This makes our industry one of the best safety performers in Australia,” Mr Streitberg said.
 
 

2011 offshore acreage release

Monday, 11 April 2011
The Australian Government released new offshore petroleum exploration areas at the APPEA Conference in Perth today. APPEA Chief Executive Belinda Robinson said: “The release of these new exploration areas has the potential to greatly enhance Australia’s energy security.” The 2011 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release offers 29 exploration release areas. Areas being newly opened up for exploration include the outer Browse Basin and the southern Exmouth Plateau.
 
 

LNG delivers greenhouse benefit

Sunday, 10 April 2011
APPEA has used the opening of its largest-ever conference and exhibition to release an independent study outlining the potential global greenhouse gas benefits associated with Australia expanding its liquefied natural gas industry. The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study of Australian CSG to LNG compares the amount of greenhouse gas emissions associated with Chinese power generators using Australian LNG derived from coal seam gas and those using imported black coal.
 
 

Next stage of the resource taxation process will be critical

Thursday, 24 March 2011

The Australian oil and gas industry welcomes the opportunity for industry experts to work with the Government in establishing the key legislative provisions associated with implementing reforms to Australia’s resource taxation framework. But it is disappointed that the Government has not fixed the many shortcomings in the petroleum resource rent tax regime’s administration.


 
 

Domgas Inquiry findings inconsistent with Government energy blueprint objectives

Thursday, 24 March 2011

The Western Australian Government may struggle to reconcile a number of the recommendations of the Parliamentary Inquiry into domestic gas prices with the its recently-outlined objectives of encouraging a more efficient, effective, transparent and competitive domestic gas market for the state.


 
 

Two new engineering scholarships on offer

Tuesday, 22 March 2011

APPEA invites applications for two inaugural APPEA Engineering Scholarships. The first scholarship is aimed at Indigenous Australians. The second scholarship is open to all Australian residents who are starting or undertaking an engineering degree in Australia that is relevant to the petroleum industry.

 
 

Garnaut paper on carbon pricing reinforces role of gas industry

Thursday, 17 March 2011

Professor Garnaut has acknowledged the role of natural gas in assisting Australia meet its climate change policy objectives but appears to have stopped short of acknowledging the global role that Australia’s vast natural gas resources can and should play in assisting the world move to a less carbon-intensive energy future.

 
 

New skills schemes a smart national investment

Tuesday, 15 March 2011

The Australian oil and gas industry supports new Federal Government skills schemes launched in Canberra today, including the $200 million Critical Skills Fund, the Adult Apprenticeship Project and the Gladstone Workforce Skilling Strategy.

 


 

 
 

Gas can more than meet WA domestic demand

Thursday, 03 March 2011

The Strategic Energy Initiative: Energy 2031 directions paper released today by the Western Australian Government indicates a competitive energy market would enable levels of gas production that could more than meet anticipated WA domestic demand over the next two decades.

 
 

APPEA supports a more informed local content debate

Tuesday, 01 March 2011
The policy position paper released by the Chamber of Commerce & Industry Western Australia makes a strong contribution to the public discussion on local
industry participation in the further development of the resources and energy sector. APPEA supports market-based policies to maximise local industry participation as this will best support long-term planning and investment in the oil and gas industry and foster an efficient and economically sustainable service sector.
 
 

Hard questions still ahead in climate policy process

Friday, 25 February 2011
The Australian oil and gas industry supports a national climate change policy that delivers abatement at least cost and facilitates investment decisions consistent with there being an international price on carbon. APPEA Chief Executive Belinda Robinson said the Australian Government had started a process which may achieve this objective but answers to many difficult questions will need to be found quickly.
 
 

LNG project approval a welcome reality check

Tuesday, 22 February 2011

The Federal Government’s approval of the APLNG project is a win for good process over fear campaigns. APPEA Chief Executive, Belinda Robinson, said: "Today’s granting of Federal approval for the latest coal seam gas export project is the culmination of many years of independent research, scrutiny, and assessment."

 
 

Gas and food production can coexist

Wednesday, 16 February 2011

The peak body representing the natural gas industry will continue to work with both sides of politics in NSW to make sure that the economic, environmental and regional development potential of the industry can be realised and that landholders have the reassurances they need that the industry’s development is sustainable.