Australian Natural Gas Insanity

[Shannow]

I've mentioned before that Oz has signed up to massive NG exports, which have seriously increased prices both wholesale and domestic, with the wholesale price doubling for much of this winter, and gas fired generators beign mothballed because the "buyback" on their fuel makes them more margin than burning it for electricity.

Plants are stoking up on diesel for the circumstances that gas price and electricity price peaks line up, burning diesel instead of gas.

Now the silliness has come full swing, and Oz' Energy Policy (laughable term really, the "policy" has been to throw all of our reserves at export markets, and to heck with energy prices for local industry...

https://www.agl.com.au/-/media/AGL/About...-page.pdf?la=en

To supply Southern Australia, one of the big gas companies is looking at putting in a Natural Gas IMPORT terminal (p66), right where some of our biggest gas fields hit the pipelines.

Yes, the market players have been savaged by blanket bans on "unconventional" gas in the affected states (what's that energy policy thing again ???)

 

[Lyman]

More of that "World Economy" [censored] that governments are buying into instead of taking care of their own.

 

[4WD]

On top of that, Forbes and Wall Street analyst have hit CVX hard for massive cost over runs.
The capex they have employed looked pretty much out of line with market capitalization values...
Don't sound too win-win.

Of course here on the gulf coast we watch LNG import terminals spun on the head to export ...

 

[wemay]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timdaiss/201...mble-falls-flat

NOV 7, 2016 @ 07:53 PM 4,947 VIEWS

Bleeding Red Ink: Australia's $150 Billion Energy Projects Gamble Falls Flat

 

[andyd]

When Australia started exporting coal and iron ore to China, why didn't you guys make steel instead?

 

[bioburner]

Originally Posted By: andyd
When Australia started exporting coal and iron ore to China, why didn't you guys make steel instead?

The plants couldn't or are hard to meet clean air regs and the labor in China is or was a lot cheaper. IMO

 

[userfriendly]

Our black coal isn't used for power generation because it is priced as an export commodity even with a 5,000 year supply in the ground.
Brown coal cost more to mine, as per chart than black, higher sulfur, less efficient & dirtier burning.
The privatization of utilities (and lotteries) in AU is in part to blame.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Blkstanger
More of that "World Economy" [censored] that governments are buying into instead of taking care of their own.

Maybe, but countries have been doing that for time immemorial to increase cash reserves, including some of the most protectionist countries in human history. One doesn't need trade deals or "globalization" as an excuse to screw the people.