BP calls on WA to scrap onshore gas export ban, warns of market intervention

afr.com:

BP has called on Western Australia to scrap its controversial export ban for onshore gas projects and issued a strong warning that further government intervention will undermine energy security and stifle investment.

In a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into the state’s domestic gas reserve, the energy giant said allowing a proportion of onshore gas to be made available to the export market could stoke development and increase overall supply into the domestic market.

BP has called on the WA government to ease its export ban for onshore gas.  Bloomberg

The inquiry is investigating the viability of the state’s much-vaunted domestic gas reservation policy, which compels offshore producers to feed 15 per cent of gas into the local market and also bans the export of gas sourced from onshore.

The company warned the state over implications of market intervention, saying Australian governments had already impacted “investability” and triggered concerns of over-regulation and unpredictability.

“Nothing will undermine energy security faster than if WA is seen as a place where approvals processes are so complicated, inefficient, and slow, that developments can’t proceed in an economic manner,” the submission reads.

BP said while the 15 per cent cap on offshore gas had provided certainty to the market, onshore producers had not benefited from that same stability.

“Allowing a portion of onshore gas resource to be exported could facilitate the development of these resources, increasing supply into the domestic market while at the same time continuing the utilisation of LNG infrastructure that will otherwise cease to operate and deliver value to the state,” BP said.

The government should also consider ensuring that onshore gas