Australian gas industry
From MoxyWiki
The Australian natural gas industry is growing rapidly, with around 50% of LNG produced in 2007-2008 being exported at a value of AUD10.1bn.
Natural Gas is Australia's third largest source of primary energy consumption and increasing at a rate of 4% pa compared with 1% for coal and 1% for petroleum products[1].
Australia has significant reserves of natural gas. Gas is Australia's third largest energy resource after coal and uranium. Around 96 per cent of Australian conventional gas production is sourced from three petroleum basins—the Gippsland Basin (Victoria), the Cooper-Eromanga Basin (central Australia) and the Carnarvon Basin (north-west Western Australia). Significant coal seam methane gas resources exist in the major coal basins of eastern Australia. Australia's gas resources are large enough to support projected domestic and export market growth to 2030 and beyond.
In 2008 Australia's economic demonstrated resources (EDR) and subeconomic demonstrated resources (SDR) of conventional gas were estimated at 180400 PJ (164 tcf) - and at current production rates there is sufficient EDR of conventional gas (122100 PJ, 111tcf)to last another 63 years[2].
Natural gas used in Australia is transported from the often remote gas fields and processing facilities to areas of demand by long distance, high pressure, steel pipelines known as gas transmission pipelines. Once at an area of demand, which may be an industrial area, city or gas fired power station, the gas is distributed to users through a low pressure pipeline system known as a gas distribution network[3].
The total length of Australia's transmission pipeline system has increased from 9,000 kilometres (km) in 1989 to almost 29,000 km in 2005. The natural gas distribution network reaches 3.7 million customers, including 3.6 million domestic customers and 100,000 commercial and industrial customers[4].
Gas industry bodies include:
- Australian Gas Association
- Energy Networks Association - representing gas distributors
- LPG Australia -representing LPG industry sector
- PESA: Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia
- APPEA - representing the upstream oil and gas industry.
Work by the Gas Market Leaders Group continues on the development of a national gas market[5] and a short term trading market (STTM) is being trialled in first half of 2010[6]
