Attendees heard from Dampier Bunbury Pipeline (DBP) Commercial General Manager Mark Cooper, who spoke primarily about how WA’s domestic gas market is changing and developing.
Mr Cooper discussed the effects that WA’s LNG export industry and higher gas prices are having on the domestic market, and stressed the need for WA to develop a simple, transparent trading platform.
“From a sovereign state point of view, and especially if you take the view that diverse economic basis is a good thing, utilising resources where you have a natural competitive advantage is desirable,” said Mr Cooper.
“In our case, abundant natural resources and energy resources has a multiplier effect in terms of investment and private sector job creation from some of the energy being harnessed locally.
“Virtually every other country in the world with energy resources has some mechanism to prioritise the local economy and from the upstream operators’ point of view, it can be viewed as their licence to operate.
“I’m certainly not advocating that upstream companies should be forced to sell at a loss in the domestic market, but a fair return on the 15 per cent of the gas reserved for the domestic market will not dissuade any international oil company from investing in these multi-billion dollar LNG projects in my view.”
He said producers, pipelines, owners and customers have got to work together and get government agencies onside “to create a successful domestic gas market”.
“Our Energy Minister Mike Nahan is a great supporter of markets and the key to a successful market is information.
“The current WA gas market is shrouded in confidentiality agreements with every transaction being conducted under bilateral contracts. There are deals happening every day except they are happening behind closed doors and nobody actually knows what’s being traded at what price…we need to make it easier and cheaper for the market participants to do the trades,” he said.
The dinner was sponsored by Murphy Pipe and Civil and Vacuworx.
