APA welcomes the short-term improvements in the east coast gas market, but it underscores the importance of unlocking new domestic gas supply and continued investment in APA’s East Coast Gas Grid to support energy users and the introduction of additional gas powered generation over the medium and longer term.

“The 2025 Gas Statement of Opportunities highlights that APA’s East Coast Gas Grid Expansion Plan can head-off potential gas shortfalls until 2034, avoiding the need to become dependent on higher cost and higher emissions LNG import terminals – AEMO’s forecasts show there is no need to consider linking our domestic gas to international prices in the medium term,” APA Group CEO and Managing Director Adam Watson said.

“The GSOO confirms new gas fields are needed under all scenarios to avoid southern state shortfalls. APA has been saying for some time that investment in new domestic gas supply, including in the Surat and Beetaloo basins, is the key to delivering secure and affordable energy for Australian industry and households. The recent announcement of the development of new gas supply in the Bass Strait is an important step in achieving this, when coupled with the Surat and Beetaloo.

“APA’s recently announced infrastructure expansion plan will deliver new transport capacity in stages, with projects to be delivered as needed by the energy market to meet demand and keep costs lower for consumers.

“Projects to add new transport capacity over the coming years – including the transition of the Moomba to Sydney Ethane Pipeline to natural gas, to be delivered this year – are underway and have been well supported by customers.

“The extension of Longford, coupled with the staged ongoing expansion of APA’s existing pipeline network, shows Australia won’t need to import higher cost LNG during the period modelled by AEMO. We know LNG imports will undermine domestic energy security and expose Australia’s energy market to global supply chains and prices. 

“New gas supplies from Bass Strait, which will extend Longford capacity into the 2030s, coupled with the delivery of new projects in northern gas basins such as the Surat and the Beetaloo, will ensure Australian gas is available to power our economy and key industries out to 2050 and beyond. New supply from the Bass Strait will bridge the gap between existing domestic supply basins and the long-term potential of the Beetaloo Basin.

“We know that Northern Australia has lower cost, lower emissions gas to support Australia’s domestic gas requirements over the medium to longer term as Longford declines. The Northern Territory Government estimates that there are over 200,000 petajoules of gas in place in the Beetaloo, which could be used to support Australian domestic and export markets into 2050 and beyond.

“Australia has an abundance of domestic gas available to meet east coast demand, and these recent announcements are confirmation of this. Going forward, government and regulators need to focus on policy certainty and ensuring other new gas developments are prioritised to allow the gas sector to deliver the best outcome for Australians.”