The Australian Government has identified the Beetaloo Basin as a resource with the potential to deliver cheap gas to households and industry as well as supply additional LNG for export.
Professor Ian Satchwell, an analyst and adviser on economic, industry and infrastructure policy, released a statement for the Australian Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) that claimed the development of the Beetaloo Basin is key to securing the Northern Territory as an Australian and Asian energy powerhouse.
Former business advisor to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Satchwell said that Beetaloo would be instrumental in the transition from coal-fired power.
“Beetaloo Basin gas, in addition to other onshore and offshore gas, has a very important role to play in customers’ transition to lower carbon energy sources, whether those customers be in Australia or in the Asian region,” he said.
The International Energy Agency forecasts predict that the use of gas is expected to rise as a result of the shift to low carbon energy sources.
“If we examine emissions from the full energy cycle, we quickly realise that without gas, emissions from customer operations will not reduce as quickly as when utilising gas to enable their energy transition, as there are very limited energy and technology alternatives at present,” Satchwell said.
“In addition to the benefits provided by switching from coal-to-gas both domestically and through LNG exports to overseas markets, there is marked potential for development of newer, future-focused industries built around development of the Beetaloo, such as carbon offsets, and carbon capture and sequestration.”
Greater gas production in the Northern Territory provides an opportunity for commercial-scale carbon offsets, as well as carbon capture and storage developments.
Satchwell estimates that these technologies will achieve considerable scale in the next 10 years, generating jobs and economic development for the regions.
“I think the NT as an energy and carbon hub has a very exciting future.”
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