Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
The APPEA Journal The APPEA Journal Society
Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)

Examining the challenges and opportunities for Australia as an LNG producer against the backdrop of rising domestic renewables output and global interest in ‘carbon-neutral’ LNG

Rou Urn Lee A * and Joey Chua A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Argus Media, Editorial, Singapore.

* Correspondence to: rouurn.lee@argusmedia.com

The APPEA Journal 62 S39-S43 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ21050
Accepted: 15 March 2022   Published: 13 May 2022

© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA.

Abstract

A massive global exporter of natural resources, Australia took the crown as the world’s top LNG producer at the end of 2018 and cemented its position in the following years with a slew of new LNG projects. But burgeoning LNG production in rival countries such as Qatar and the US in recent years has put the three countries neck and neck. As a party to the Paris Agreement which advocates climate change, Australia has held fast to its commitment of reducing carbon emissions by increasing the output of renewables such as solar, wind and hydro amid declining domestic gas production. At the same time, the country has attempted to up its ‘carbon-neutral’ LNG offerings in response to a global shift towards decarbonisation and net-zero targets. But what do all these mean for the LNG producing country? Could a rise in renewables output inevitably sound the death knell for the country’s LNG industry, which relies on gas for feedstock? Where does Australia stand in comparison with other countries, particularly Qatar and the US, when it comes to producing ‘carbon-neutral’ LNG? This paper will examine what the recent increase in renewables output in Australia to all-time highs and growing global interest in ‘carbon-neutral’ LNG mean for Australia as an LNG producer, delving particularly into the challenges and opportunities that accompany these developments for the country.

Keywords: baseload requirements, ‘carbon-neutral’, energy transition, fossil fuels, LNG, power mix, renewable energy, transition fuels, wholesale prices.

Rou Urn Lee leads the LNG desk at Argus Media in Singapore, overseeing the daily northeast Asia price assessments for LNG, as well as east Australian (Victoria and Wallumbilla) domestic markets’ weekly assessments. She also directs news coverage on breaking news and other significant market movers in the LNG industry. Prior to this, Rou Urn spent 3 years reporting on the ferrous metals markets and eventually led a team specialising in price assessments and market coverage for metallurgical coal at Argus Media Singapore. Rou Urn graduated with a Bachelor of Communications with a specialisation in Journalism from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore in 2016. She also served a stint at the Reuters news desk as an intern in 2015, covering various beats including politics, commodities, entertainment and general news.

Joey Chua is an Associate Editor at the LNG desk in Argus Media, based in Singapore. She covers and assesses prices for the Asian spot LNG market on a daily basis, with a particular focus on northeast Asia and India. She also reports on and assesses prices for the east Australian (Victoria and Wallumbilla) domestic gas markets weekly. Joey graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Social Sciences (Highest Distinction) in Communications and New Media at the National University of Singapore in 2019, and has had various stints at newspapers in Singapore and abroad. She spent 5 months in Cambodia in 2016 interning as a News Reporter and Sub-editor at The Phnom Penh Post – one of the country’s few independent English-language newspapers. She later interned as a News Reporter at TODAY, an English-language newspaper in Singapore under Mediacorp, the country’s largest media broadcaster and provider, in 2017.


References

AER (2021) Wholesale Markets Quarterly Q4 2020, October-December. Quarterly report, 2020. Australian Energy Regulator. Available at https://www.aer.gov.au/system/files/Wholesale%20markets%20quarterly%20%E2%80%93%20Q4%202020%2811929446.1%29.pdf

Argus Media (2021a) Australia’s Woodside plans $5bn in new energy by 2030. News article. 8 December 2021. Available at https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2281092-australias-woodside-plans-5bn-in-new-energy-by-2030

Argus Media (2021b) Qatar Energy starts Ras Laffan LNG expansion. Available at https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2264472-qatar-energy-starts-ras-laffan-lng-expansion?backToResults=true&selectedMarket=Natural%20gas

Argus Media (2021c) GIIGNL sets framework for ‘carbon-neutral’ LNG cargoes. Available at https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2274843-giignl-sets-framework-for-carbonneutral-lng-cargoes

Argus Media (2021d) Woodside’s new LNG project faces carbon scrutiny. News article, 26 November 2021. Available at https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2277907-woodsides-new-lng-project-faces-carbon-scrutiny?backToResults=true&selectedMarket=Natural%20gas

Argus Media (2022a) Calcasieu Pass receives LNG carrier. Available at https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2299431-calcasieu-pass-receives-lng-carrier?backToResults=true&selectedMarket=Natural%20gas

Argus Media (2022b) Sabine Pass LNG to place sixth train in service. Available at https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2299381-sabine-pass-lng-to-place-sixth-train-in-service?backToResults=true&selectedMarket=Natural%20gas

Butler B (2021) Shareholders pressure Woodside over carbon emissions and Scarborough gas project. Available at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/15/shareholders-pressure-woodside-over-carbon-emissions-and-scarborough-gas-project

Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (2021) Australian Energy Update 2021. Available at https://www.energy.gov.au/publications/australian-energy-update-2021

Energy Quest (2022) Australian LNG export revenue surges in 2021 but close to peak. Available at https://www.energyquest.com.au/australian-lng-export-revenue-surges-in-2021-but-close-to-peak/

Parliament of Australia (2018) Energy challenges. Parliament Report, 2018. Available at https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BriefingBook46p/EnergyChallenges

Thompson B, Macdonald-Smith A (2021) Forrest blasts Santos, Woodside as ‘fossils’. Available at https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/forrest-blasts-santos-woodside-as-fossils-20210614-p580vt

Wood Mackenzie (2021) Producing green LNG is key for Australia to remain competitive. Available at https://www.woodmac.com/press-releases/producing-green-lng-is-key-for-australia-to-remain-competitive/