AUSTRALIA’S GAS FUTURE—A RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Australia’s large natural gas resource offers the prospect of a secure and competitive supply of transport, domestic and industrial fuels, lower emissions and an opportunity for significant wealth generation. Although the use of gas is growing fast, there remain significant technological hurdles that must be overcome before its full potential is realised. Many of the technical issues have a distinctive Australian dimension that demand local solutions—we cannot necessarily rely on imported technology.

In consultation with industry, government and other research and development providers, CSIRO has developed a gas technology roadmap that provides the basis for an integrated research program in support of the Australian gas industry. The roadmap addresses the needs of both the conventional and unconventional gas industries and covers the value chain from exploration, production and processing, to utilisation and end use.

In the context of ensuring a reliable and secure supply of competitively priced gas, two research streams have been identified, focussing on accessing remote conventional gas that is economically stranded, and unlocking Australia’s large unconventional gas resources to supply the southeast quadrant. Gas is an intrinsically cleaner fuel than oil or coal in terms of CO2 emissions and specific research opportunities in geosequestration, gas-based alternative fuels and distributed energy have been identified.

Gas in the form of LNG is a fast-growing export industry enhancing Australia’s position as a leading energy exporter. There are opportunities for research and development to contribute to LNG, gas-to-liquids (GTL) fuel conversion as well as the greater use of gas for large-scale resource developments. Given the diversity and range of research opportunities, Australia has the potential to become a global leader in gas technologies with the chance to grow knowledge-based exports in addition to the export of rawfuels and embedded-energy products.