In a speech to the Queensland Resources Council, Mr Ferguson said that the demand for gas will be most evident in a carbon-constrained economy, and Australia is quickly becoming recognised as an “emerging energy superpower”?.
“Gas is going to be a very important transition fuel in the coming decades, not only in Australia but also on our doorstep in Asia,”? he said.
Mr Ferguson highlighted the nation’s booming LNG industry, predicting Australia could become the first country in the world to export LNG produced from coal seam gas (CSG).
He noted that Arrow Energy and Shell’s CSG to LNG Project alone would see between 2,500 and 3,000 people employed during peak construction, and between 250 and 300 people during its operation.
“The Government shares [the] industry’s vision for a strong, internationally competitive LNG sector in this country,”? he said.
Mr Ferguson also said that the CSG industry has developed rapidly over the past five years, and now supplies approximately 85 per cent of Queensland’s natural gas market.
“This is a crucial part of the energy mix for eastern Australia, and is supplying an increasing proportion of energy for both electrical generation and the residential and industrial sectors,”? he said.
Mr Ferguson also said that while the importance of renewable energy resources will increase, gas is expected to produce the bulk of Australia’s electricity needs, with $A2.4 billion set aside to accelerate low emissions technologies, including $A2 billion in industrial-scale projects under the Carbon Capture and Storage Flagships program.
The coal-to-liquids and gas-to-liquids industries are also on the Federal Government’s watch list, and are expected to play a major role in the nation’s energy future.
“The industry is real – and taking off – and ultra clean diesel is in the global marketplace. The product is becoming highly sought after,”? Mr Ferguson said.