Oil and gas industry in Australia - statistics & facts
Australia’s abundant natural resources have led to a highly valued oil and gas extraction industry, with investment from local and international companies. These include multinational corporations BHP, ExxonMobil, and Chevron as well as Australian-based companies Woodside Energy, Origin Energy, and Beach Energy. The country’s largest independent oil and gas company, Woodside has been looking to increase its investment and expand its gas field operations by tapping into the vast untouched resources off the coast of Western Australia. The Browse project has been met with controversy, with the Environmental Protection Authority indicating that they would reject the 30 billion Australian dollar project due to the location of these fields under coral reefs and the disruption to natural habitats it would lead to.
Almost half of Australians believe the government is not doing enough in terms of action on climate change and consideration of the environment has become a more prominent issue. Although the oil and gas industry is lucrative, how the nation deals with projects in the pipeline has come under the spotlight. The aforementioned Woodside project is a clear example of this. While a final decision is yet to be made on approving or rejecting the project, the scenario highlights Australia’s delicate task of growing its oil and gas economy while meeting its environmental commitments and responsibilities.
Australia's oil and gas on the global stage
Australia makes a valuable contribution to the global oil and gas supply with the production and export of liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil, and condensate. The exploration and production of commodities in the petroleum sector is predominately based in Western Australia. The Carnarvon and Perth Basins in this region produced thousands of megaliters of crude oil. The properties of Australian oil tend to be more suited to export markets, with the crude oil export volume fluctuating over the past decade. While Australia produces billions of cubic meters of natural gas, domestic consumption was only about a third of this. The export volume of LNG from Australia has continued to increase overall, reflecting global demand. Australia’s biggest LNG export markets by value included Japan, China, and South Korea.Is enough being done to decarbonize Australia’s economy?
Oil and natural gas are among the top three sources of energy for Australia’s primary energy consumption and look likely to remain that way in the short term. Enshrined by law, climate targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reaching net zero emissions by 2050 will likely influence how this energy distribution looks in the future. While there has been a decline in greenhouse gas emissions from fugitive emissions in Australia, whether the country is on track to reach its climate targets is still up for debate.Almost half of Australians believe the government is not doing enough in terms of action on climate change and consideration of the environment has become a more prominent issue. Although the oil and gas industry is lucrative, how the nation deals with projects in the pipeline has come under the spotlight. The aforementioned Woodside project is a clear example of this. While a final decision is yet to be made on approving or rejecting the project, the scenario highlights Australia’s delicate task of growing its oil and gas economy while meeting its environmental commitments and responsibilities.
