Billions of dollars in gas royalties funnelled into Queensland government coffers would dry up in a decade under a Greens and Teal proposal to ban new development, new modelling for the sector reveals.
The independent report by EnergyQuest found millions of homes and businesses in southeastern Australia would suffer blackouts and major economic disruption within two years if the policy to ban new gas investment is implemented.
The report argued manufacturers would close and long-term Queensland export contracts would be cancelled.
The Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism would need to be triggered, diverting Queensland LNG south, breaking foundation contracts and damaging Australia’s trading relationships.
“Within four years, half of Queensland’s LNG capacity would be unused, and within 12 years Queensland LNG exports would cease,” EnergyQuest said.
It warned gas for electricity generation would be interrupted within two years, risking blackouts and soaring emissions as coal and diesel replace gas.
Gas royalties contribute about $1.4bn each year on average to the Queensland budget.
Australian Energy Producers chief executive Samantha McCulloch said the industry had invested tens of billions in export infrastructure and created thousands of jobs that helped deliver $7bn in royalties to the state budget to date.
“No new gas would be a hammer blow for Queensland as the billions of dollars of royalties that have helped pay for hospitals, roads and schools dried up,” she said.
“All of the effort and investment Queensland and the industry have put in to create a vibrant gas industry employing thousands of people would be wasted if no new gas investment occurs.”
The Greens and Teal candidates are pushing the federal Labor government to stop new coal or gas projects, arguing the nation’s energy transition should focus on cheaper, cleaner energy, not open up new gas projects.
In June Senex Energy revealed it would push ahead with a $1bn expansion of its Atlas and Roma North natural gas fields after receiving federal approval for the stalled project.
The Queensland company, owned by Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, received federal Government environmental approval to resurrect its Surat Basin project after 18 months on hold.
It will deliver 60 petajoules of natural gas each year to the east coast from the end of 2025, some 10 per cent of its annual demand.
The approval, one of the largest new gas developments on the east coast, comes days after the energy market operator warned of a gas shortfall in future winters due a lack of supply.
