From Watts Up With That?
Essay by Eric Worrall
I wonder if prices will go up if Australia switches from drilling for our own gas to buying gas through Twiggy’s import terminal?
Australia’s first LNG import terminal nears completion amid deadlock with energy companies
ABC Illawarra / By Tim Fernandez and Justin Huntsdale
Posted Sat 13 Apr 2024 at 6:30amSaturday 13 Apr 2024 at 6:30am, updated Sat 13 Apr 2024 at 6:58am
- In short: The first LNG import terminal in Australia is nearing completion at Port Kembla, near Wollongong.
- Squadron Energy says the gas brought in will be enough to supply most of the needs of NSW and Victoria.
- What’s next? Squadron is negotiating to secure supply contracts with energy companies.
Australia’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal is almost built, but it remains unclear who will be buying its gas.
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The Twiggy Forrest-backed company claims the gas imported can supply almost all of Victoria’s forecast gas needs and 70 per cent of the requirements of New South Wales.
“I don’t think we could be at a better time in the market than right where we are,” said Squadron Energy CEO Rob Wheals.
“The facility is now 90 per cent complete and the market is facing critical gas shortages over the next couple of years.”
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AEMO said the east coast could see shortages as soon as next year if there is a particularly cold winter causing a spike in peak demand.
…Read more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-13/australias-first-gas-terminal-nears-completion/103701306
Obviously fracking Australia’s substantial shale gas fields or setting up coalfield gas projects would have eliminated the need to build a gas import terminal, but Andrew “Twiggy” Forest has long been a critic of domestic Australian fossil fuel production, and has repeatedly helped to convince politicians to block domestic energy projects.
“If they don’t believe the science, they can fuck off:” Forrest backs coal and gas ban
Sophie Vorrath
Feb 15, 2023Iron ore billionaire Andrew Forrest has called on leaders of all political stripes to get serious about climate action, or get out of the way, in a feisty exchange over the Greens’ new bid to block new fossil fuel projects in Australia.
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In the mainstream media, the general hot take is that this move has essentially put a bomb under Labor’s entire carbon reduction mechanism plan, in a classic example of letting the perfect get in the way of the good.
Does Twiggy agree?
In a word, no.
“People who do not understand the grave risk of climate change should not be in any position of influence,” Forrest said.
“We’re on a climate edge here, and I want every legislator, not just in the Greens, not just in Labor, not just in Liberal or in the [Nationals], every legislator in the world to bring themselves up to speed with the science.
“If they don’t believe the science then they can just fuck off. Right? They should be nowhere near having any responsibility, whatsoever,” he said.
“Every legislator in the world should bring themselves up to speed on the science and act accordingly.”
This new gas import terminal comes just in time for all that extra gas drilling and export capacity Abu Dhabi announced at the last climate conference.
COP28 Boss is Presiding Over a Massive Gas Production Expansion
I’m sure Twiggy had our best interests at heart, when he campaigned to shut down domestic energy production while building a new import terminal.
After all, it would be a shame if all that additional capacity Abu Dhabi announced at the last climate conference was duplicated by new capacity in Australia.
Doubling up on capacity would create the risk of oversupply and a global fossil fuel energy price drop, which could in turn reduce household bills and delay the green energy transition.
We should all really thank Twiggy for ensuring energy continuity, by providing a gas import terminal just when supplies are getting tight thanks to all the domestic energy projects regulators have vetoed in recent years.