While there is no doubt that Australian wholesale gas prices are increasing significantly, particularly on the east coast, most gas is still being sold under historic contracts at relatively low prices. Based on gas prices realised by major producers on east and west coasts we estimate that the average Australian 2013 wholesale gas price was […]

Does Australia have the world’s highest gas prices? Well certainly not the highest wholesale gas prices. Average Australian prices in 2012 were in the middle of the pecking order. The download has the facts.

A local media article calling on the Kangaroo Island community to a rally on Sunday 22 December 2013 to oppose offshore oil and gas exploration over 100 km away, contained a number of significant inaccuracies and misrepresentations of the facts and science. http://thenorwoodresource.org.au/2013/12/22/is-ki-council-misinforming-the-ki-community-regarding-seismic-surveys/  

A recent speech to the Australian Senate by Senator Penny Wright about the impact of offshore seismic for oil and gas exploration contained material mistakes about matters of fact. http://thenorwoodresource.org.au/2013/12/20/did-sa-senator-penny-wright-misinform-parliament-and-the-community/

Concerns are often raised by environmentalists about the impact of offshore seismic surveys on whales and dolphins. However, according to John Hughes, an expert in this area, there is no evidence from over four decades of seismic surveys that whales and dolphins are adversely affected by seismic sounds. This is not surprising given that the […]

While Australian domestic gas contracts are increasingly being linked to oil, the global momentum is in the opposite direction. The US Department of Energy continues to approve LNG projects for export to non-FTA countries. By our count there are now 53 Mtpa of approvals in place, more than the industry generally expected. Companies were talking […]

EnergyQuest has released a new, confidential study, Australian Coal Seam Gas 2013: All Aboard the LNG Train. Some of the key findings include: Upstream there is little activity outside the CSG LNG projects and certainly no discoveries of new “sweet spots”. If anything CSG exploration acreage appears to be shrinking. For the LNG projects, the biggest challenges […]

Speculation continues about the potential volume of US LNG exports to countries that do not currently have free trade agreements (FTA) with the US. However, as I understand it, countries with FTA agreements that are able to import from the US (such as Korea) are not restricted to consuming the LNG in the home country. […]

Last week Shell announced that its Corio refinery at Geelong is up for sale. he likelihood is that the refinery will close. If this happens Australia will be down to four refineries from eight in 2002, with one in Melbourne, two in Brisbane and one in Perth. Australia consumes twice as much oil as it […]

More from Platts on plunging US ethane prices: http://plattsenergyweektv.com/news/article/236857/293/010613-MS—Plunging-Price-of-Ethane