Future Gas Strategy: consultation paper

submission to the australian government’s future gas strategy consultation paper

Chevron Australia Pty Ltd
executive summary
Chevron Australia supports the Australian Government’s intent to develop an evidence-based, long-term strategy for how Australian natural gas will contribute to affordable and reliable energy security in both Australia and our export markets whilst supporting the energy transition.

Chevron Australia is one of the largest energy suppliers projects, which remain subject to regulatory approvals to Australia and the region. The Chevron Australia- and investment decisions by Chevron and its joint operated Gorgon and Wheatstone gas plants produce venture participants. These major projects to bring-on approximately 45% of the gas supplied to the Western new supply will ensure we are able to continue to safely
Australian domestic market1 and just over 6.5% of the produce reliable and affordable natural gas for our world’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) supply or 33% of customers from our Gorgon and Wheatstone assets.
Australia’s LNG exports2.
Chevron Australia appreciates the opportunity to
To achieve this, Chevron Australia and its partners have provide comment on the Australian Government’s invested more than $81 billion3 of capital expenditure Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper4 , including to the Australian economy since 2009 and on average outlining our perspective on Australia’s future gas
$2.8 billion of annual operating expenditure, creating supply and demand and the policy and regulatory direct jobs and livelihoods for over 4,100 people each settings needed to support this; providing comment year. In the same timeframe, Chevron Australia has on the points made in the consultation paper; and contributed more than $12 billion in taxes ($4.2 billion responding to relevant consultation questions.
in 2022), which can be used to fund critical public
As will be outlined in our submission, Chevron Australia infrastructure and assist the government to support
sees Australian gas fulfilling the following key roles large scale energy transition investment.
in both the Australian domestic market and the export
The Chevron Australia-operated Gorgon and markets that rely on Australian LNG until 2050 and
Wheatstone facilities are multi-decade developments. likely beyond:
We continue to progress work on future subsea

1 Gas Bulletin Board (WA) (aemo.com.au)
2 Based on 2022 production figures.
3 All dollar figures are in Australian dollars unless otherwise stated.
4 Future Gas Strategy consultation paper (storage.googleapis.com)

Future gas strategy consultation paper
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• Providing energy security and meeting increased To deliver these benefits and meet the requirements of
global energy needs with reliable and affordable energy increasing energy needs, new gas resources in Australia
that we need for our daily lives. Gas allows us to heat will need to be developed over the coming decades. In
and power our homes, businesses, schools, hospitals,
some markets, such as in Western Australia, the demand
manufacturing, and is used, among other things, in
for gas will increase over the medium term to meet
industrial processes such as mining and minerals
processing. We continue to see gas playing a critical role the needs of replacing coal-fired power generation;
in industrial processes and the power sector, including to providing firming generation for renewable energy; and
mitigate renewables intermittency. supporting existing key industries such as mining and
• Enabling economic development, creating thousands minerals processing and new industries such as low-
of direct and indirect jobs given gas underpins existing carbon hydrogen and critical minerals like lithium.
but also facilitates new industries. In Australia, reliable
To ensure sufficient gas supply is developed to meet
and affordable gas has powered the mining and minerals
processing sectors as well as supported other industries demand requirements in a timely manner, Australia
such as manufacturing bricks, cement, fertiliser, glass, must ensure it has a stable, clear, and efficient policy
food products such as dairy, and paper products. Going and regulatory framework. A stable and efficient policy
forward, gas will also provide the energy needed for and regulatory framework will also assist in deploying
new industries such as critical minerals and low-carbon lower carbon energy technologies at scale in the decades
hydrogen. In addition, successfully developing a large- ahead.
scale carbon capture and storage (CCS)5 industry will
enable Australia to continue to benefit from its vast To achieve this, Chevron Australia recommends that the
resource base, generating economic benefits whilst Australian Government should:
reducing the emissions intensity of these activities.
• Supporting the energy transition by providing firming • Clarify and amend its major project assessments and
power for the growth in renewables generation; approvals processes to improve efficiency, certainty and
replacing coal-fired power generation as coal assets are predictability for major projects whilst maintaining a robust
retired; and helping Australia lower the carbon intensity regulatory framework. Improvements could be made
of hard-to-abate sectors by developing lower carbon to the offshore petroleum and retention lease regimes.
intensity hydrogen supply as a cost-effective feedstock. In particular, amendments to the Offshore Petroleum
Furthermore, the skills, technologies to lower the carbon Greenhouse Gas Storage Environment Regulations are
intensity of gas production such as CCS, and to some needed to provide certainty on consultation requirements
extent infrastructure developed for Australia’s domestic for both proponents and stakeholders, as well as
gas and LNG industry will assist in developing energy amending oil spill guidelines to provide a more appropriate
sources needed for the energy transition, such as lower geographical area for the environment that may be
carbon intensity hydrogen. affected. In addition, ensuring assessments are streamlined
where possible is required, particularly when both Federal
In short, Australian natural gas will play a critical role and State government agencies have oversight of a project in the future energy mix of both Australia and the activity and there is a risk of duplication or inconsistency
Asia Pacific region until at least 20506. In addition, the between Federal and State requirements.
extensive benefits of gas as an energy source can be • Provide a pathway to prioritise projects and realised with reduced net emissions. Australian gas developments critical to energy security and facilities are subject to the Australian Government’s decarbonisation8 of energy in Australia and the region for
government and regulator assessments and processes. The
Safeguard Mechanism if they produce over 100,000
Western Australian government has recently implemented tonnes of CO2-equivalent covered emissions in a
the Green Energy Approvals Initiative9. A similar initiative financial year7. In some cases gas facilities, such as the for gas developments critical to Australia’s energy security
Chevron Australia-operated Gorgon and Wheatstone should be considered. On decarbonisation, the Australian plants, also have state-based greenhouse gas government could assist in supporting the emissions conditions, which require facilities to reach net zero reduction efforts of our regional trading partners by using scope 1 emissions by 2050. Australia’s geology and having the policy and regulatory

5 Reference to carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology could also include utilisation in future developments which would be known as carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS)
technology. For ease of reading, we have used only CCS in this submission.
6 IEA net zero scenario World Energy Outlook 2023 (windows.net) table 3.6 still shows use of unabated & abated natural gas in 2050, albeit at lower levels than today.
7 The Safeguard Mechanism (cleanenergyregulator.gov.au)
8 ‘Decarbonise’ or ‘decarbonisation’ generally refers to the process of stopping or reducing release of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere as the result of a
process. For Chevron, decarbonisation can refer to reducing absolute emissions or reducing the carbon intensity of a process or asset.
9 Green Energy Approvals Initiative | Western Australian Government (wa.gov.au)

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frameworks in place to support emissions abatement • Maintain access to high quality, verifiable carbon
solutions for the region10. offsets for hard-to-abate industries to use in order
• Increase the investment attractiveness of Australia to reach net-zero emission targets of sectors such as
for gas developments, low carbon energy projects, energy, mining and manufacturing. Enabling access to
and carbon abatement projects, particularly given cost-effective offsets will be important to reducing costs
international investment will be needed for large-scale of products produced by emissions intensive industries
low carbon energy projects. There have been several which in turn will reduce the cost to the consumer.
regulatory and policy changes in Australia impacting LNG • Promote policies that incentivise investment in energy
projects in relatively quick succession (such as reforms supply and infrastructure, including common user
to the Safeguard Mechanism and fiscal settings) which infrastructure; energy system reliability; and measures
cumulatively can impact Australia’s competitiveness that promote energy efficiency. Governments should
as a place in which to invest in future energy supply. avoid market interventions or policies that discourage
There is also intense global competition for energy investment in Australia’s energy system as this will lead to
investment capital. Australia’s transition to a net-zero further supply challenges and domestic price volatility.
economy is expected to require “at least a USD$1.9 trillion
investment” ($2.4 trillion) in the country’s energy system
It is critical as Australia’s energy system transitions to a
by 2050 . Investment attractiveness could be improved more diverse and lower carbon energy mix that energy
by enabling shared infrastructure, more efficient and security is maintained. As noted in the consultation
streamlined approvals processes, and having bi-partisan paper, “how, and how fast” the world meets
political support for the regulatory framework to increase commitments under the Paris Agreement is “uncertain”.
confidence that regulatory requirements will be more Australia needs to balance energy security and
stable. Being an attractive investment destination will diversity, energy reliability, and energy affordability.
enable ongoing economic benefits and jobs for Australia.
• Promote a market-based approach to decarbonisation It is therefore important that Australian Government
that accounts for full life-cycle emissions profiles policy does not inadvertently create energy shortfalls
of various energy technologies, allowing different or system instability by being overly reliant on energy
technology solutions to compete on a level playing sources and technologies that are not yet able to
field. Support for technological development and lower reliably meet demand.
carbon initiatives should be based on the carbon intensity
instead of being limited to selected technologies only. In the spirit of working constructively and
For example, for hydrogen development, policies should collaboratively with the Australian Government to
create a level playing field where all technologies/ ensure energy security that is affordable and ever-
fuels that reduce emissions are eligible, based on total cleaner, Chevron Australia would welcome further
emissions reductions achieved on a lifecycle basis across consultation and engagement as the Future Gas
the hydrogen value chain.
Strategy is progressed and finalised.

10 For example, as per passage of the Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Amendment (Using New Technologies to Fight Climate Change) Bill 2023
11 Report Shows Pathway and Cost for Australia to Meet Climate Goals and Become Major Hydrogen Exporter | BloombergNEF (bnef.com)

Future gas strategy consultation paper
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Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

Contents
1 Executive summary ........................................................................................................ 2
2 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 6
2.1 Chevron in Australia.............................................................................................. 6
2.2 Chevron’s position on lower carbon ...................................................................... 7
2.3 Context for Chevron Australia's submission .......................................................... 8
3 The future of supply and demand for Australian gas ...................................................... 9
3.1 Providing energy security ...................................................................................... 9
3.2 Enabling economic development ........................................................................ 11
3.3 Supporting the energy transition ......................................................................... 12
3.4 Policy and regulatory opportunities for the Australian Government to consider ... 14
4 Comments on the consultation paper ........................................................................... 16
4.1 In the “Introduction” section,................................................................................ 16
4.2 In the “Introduction” section,................................................................................ 16
4.3 In the “Introduction” section,................................................................................ 16
4.4 In the “Chapter 1: Demand” section, ................................................................... 17
4.5 In the “Australian LNG in the world’s transition to net zero” section,.................... 17
5 Responses to relevant consultation questions within the consultation paper ................ 18
5.1 Gas Demand....................................................................................................... 18
5.2 Gas Supply ......................................................................................................... 25
5.3 Reducing Emissions ........................................................................................... 28
5.4 Australia’s Gas Workforce & LNG Facilities ........................................................ 29
5.5 Domestic Gas Supply ......................................................................................... 31

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Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

2 Introduction
2.1 Chevron in Australia
Chevron Australia Pty Ltd (Chevron Australia) is part of the Chevron group of
companies, of which Chevron Corporation (Chevron) is the ultimate holding
company. Chevron is one of the world's leading integrated energy companies and
has been present in Australia for over 70 years.
Chevron Australia is the operator of the Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG and
domestic gas facilities in the north-west of Western Australia. In addition, Chevron
Australia holds a one-sixth share of the North West Shelf Project. Through its
share of these world-class Australian LNG and domestic gas projects, Chevron
Australia is a major exporter of LNG and major provider of domestic gas to the
Western Australian market. The Chevron Australia-operated Gorgon and
Wheatstone gas plants produce approximately 45% of the gas supplied to the
Western Australian domestic market12 and just over 6.5% of the world’s Liquefied
Natural Gas (LNG) supply or 33% of Australia’s LNG exports13.
Chevron Australia and its partners have contributed more than $81 billion 14 of
capital expenditure to the Australian economy since 2009 and on average $2.8
billion of annual operating expenditure, creating jobs and livelihoods for over 4,100
people each year. In the same timeframe, Chevron Australia has contributed more
than $12 billion in taxes ($4.2 billion in 2022), which can be used to fund critical
public infrastructure and assist the government to support large scale energy
transition investment. As the requirement for gas and LNG continues, Chevron
Australia will continue to provide economic benefits to the Australian government
and community.
Given the importance of Gorgon and Wheatstone to the WA economy and its
supply of LNG to international trading partners, Chevron Australia continues to
invest in our world-class assets. For example, in June of this year, we announced
the production of first gas from the Gorgon Stage Two development, which will
help maintain feed gas supply for the Gorgon LNG and domestic gas processing
facilities on Barrow Island. Fabrication is also underway on our $6 billion Jansz-Io
Compression Project, designed to maintain production from the Jansz-Io field
using proven, world-leading subsea compression technology. Such investments
will ensure Gorgon, in this example, continues to maintain its rate of production to
fulfil both domestic and international customer energy requirements.
At the Gorgon LNG facility, Chevron Australia operates the Gorgon carbon capture
and storage (CCS) facility which has so far sequestered over 8.8 million tonnes of
CO2-equivalent since it commenced operations in August 2019. At current injection
rates, the Gorgon CCS facility is the largest CCS project of its kind operating
anywhere in the world. Chevron Australia is also part of three joint ventures that
have been granted three separate greenhouse gas assessment permits in
Commonwealth waters offshore north-west Australia for potential CCS projects15.
Aside from its investment in upstream exploration and production of oil and gas,
Chevron has other companies within the group active in Australia. Chevron New
Energies (CNE) focuses on reducing the carbon intensity of Chevron’s own

12 Gas Bulletin Board (WA) (aemo.com.au)
13 Based on 2022 production figures.
14 All dollar values in this submission are in Australian dollars.
15 Chevron granted interest in three permits to assess carbon storage offshore Australia (australia.chevron.com)

© 2023 Chevron Australia Pty Ltd
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Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

operations and helping customers meet their lower carbon ambitions. Included in
CNE’s global portfolio is CCS, lower carbon hydrogen, renewable fuels and
products, carbon offsets, and emerging technologies such as geothermal and
lithium extraction.
Chevron also has downstream interests in Australia. In 2020, Chevron re-entered
the downstream market in Australia through the acquisition of Puma Energy
(Australia) Holdings. The new organisation, Chevron Australia Downstream,
delivers quality fuel and lubricant products and services across Australia via a
national network of service stations, primarily under the Puma brand. In January
2022, Chevron Australia Downstream started branding new service stations in
Australia as Caltex – a global brand owned by Chevron – and is rebranding many
of its existing Puma service stations as Caltex.

2.2 Chevron’s position on lower carbon
Chevron's strategy is to leverage our strengths to safely deliver lower carbon
energy to a growing world. We are investing to grow our traditional oil and gas
business, lower the carbon intensity of our operations and grow new lower carbon
businesses in renewable fuels, carbon capture and offsets, hydrogen, and other
emerging technologies.
Adopting intensity metrics provides Chevron the flexibility to grow our upstream
and downstream businesses while aiming to become an increasingly carbon-
efficient operator.
Chevron supports the goals of the Paris Agreement and is committed to helping to
address climate change while continuing to deliver energy that supports society.
Chevron believes climate policy should achieve emissions reductions as efficiently
and effectively as possible, at the least cost to economies, and the optimal
approach is to drive the most efficient and cost-effective reductions economy-wide,
paired with natural and technological emissions removals.
Narrow sectoral or geographic metrics are less efficient than broad economy-wide
solutions, which are uniquely able to incentivise the most efficient and cost-
effective reductions. Chevron supports a price on carbon, applied as widely and
broadly as possible, as the best approach to reduce emissions and we encourage
national policies that support international linkages (for example, through Article 6
of the Paris Agreement), with the goal of ultimately building up to a liquid and
integrated global carbon market.
For more details regarding Chevron Corporation's perspective, please refer to our
2023 Chevron Climate Resilience Report 16.
Stable, efficient and effective policies are essential to ensure ongoing investment
in Australia's economy. By combining the Safeguard Mechanism Reforms with
other appropriately designed policies, Australia can support both economic growth
and the most cost-efficient emissions abatement across the economy.
Specific to Chevron Australia, as per State Ministerial Statements17 and Safeguard
Mechanism legislation the Chevron Australia-operated Gorgon and Wheatstone
LNG facilities are required to reduce emissions on a five-yearly basis on a
trajectory to net zero scope 1 emissions by 2050.

16 climate-change-resilience-report.pdf (chevron.com)
17 1732 Statement 1201 for publishing Wheatstone.pdf (epa.wa.gov.au)
1729 Statement 1198 for publishing.pdf (epa.wa.gov.au)

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Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

Climate change is global in nature and addressing it will require meaningful global
and collaborative approaches from policymakers. Affordable and reliable energy is
essential to human progress. Australia's reliable exports of LNG contribute to the
greenhouse gas reduction strategies of customer nations that have ratified the
Paris Agreement. For example, major LNG customers South Korea 18 and Japan 19
have in place Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) submissions to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

2.3 Context for Chevron Australia's submission
Chevron Australia is a member of Australian Energy Producers (AEP), the
Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia (CME), and the Chamber of
Commerce and Industry WA (CCIWA) and has also provided input to their
respective submissions on the consultation paper. The importance of the Future
Gas Strategy to Australia and Asia Pacific’s energy security means Chevron
Australia is providing its own comprehensive submission, considering our position
as a major LNG exporter and domestic gas supplier to the Western Australian
market.
We consider we are well placed to provide comment on the following sections:
• Our perspective on future Australian natural gas supply and demand;
• Our comments on information included within the consultation paper; and,
• Our response to relevant consultation questions posed within the consultation
paper.
Note that this submission represents views of Chevron Australia and not
necessarily those of our Joint Venture Participants.
In line with the objective of the Australian Government for the Future Gas Strategy
to be an “evidence-based” strategy, our submission provides references to reports
or data relevant to our comments.

18 211223_The Republic of Korea's Enhanced Update of its First Nationally
Determined Contribution_211227_editorial change.pdf (unfccc.int)
19 The Long-term Strategy under the Paris Agreement.pdf (unfccc.int)

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Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

3 The future of supply and demand for
Australian gas
To outline the future supply needs and demand requirements, we have categorised
our key points into the following three areas where Australian gas will have a role
in Australia and in LNG export markets:
• Providing energy security;
• Enabling economic development; and,
• Supporting the energy transition.
To support these three roles of gas, we have added a section on policy and
regulatory opportunities for the Australian Government to consider for enabling the
Future Gas Strategy.

3.1 Providing energy security
a. In Australia, Australian gas will be critical for providing baseload
power and grid stability in the energy system as the mix of energy
sources increases.
i. Coal currently provides baseload capacity for electricity generation
across Australia on both the National Electricity Market (NEM) and
Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM). The WEM operates only in
Western Australia (WA), is not connected to the NEM.
ii. In the 12 months to 27 October 2023, the NEM used an average of
44% black coal, 18% brown coal and 3% natural gas for electricity
generation 20. Natural gas is a much larger percentage of electricity
generation in Western Australia’s WEM, which in the 12 months to 27
October, saw a mix of 28% coal and 37% gas21.
iii. Coal-fired power generation assets will be progressively retired as they
near or come to the end of their operational life. The Western
Australian government announced in June 2022 that it would retire
state-owned coal-fired power stations by 2030 22 as renewable energy
generation increases. However, even as the percentage of renewable
energy increases, gas-fired power generation including additional gas-
fired power generation will be required 23, especially whilst increased
network capacity and energy storage is built to manage the fluctuating
production of renewable generation.
iv. In the Australian Energy Market Operator’s 2022 WA Gas Statement of
Opportunities (WA GSOO) report24, “AEMO’s modelling projects that
increasing renewables penetration will be insufficient to fully
compensate for the loss of coal-fired baseload power and gas
generation will have to increase to complement renewable generation.”
v. Gas-fired power generation can provide grid stability and ensure
baseload power when renewable energy production is intermittent by

20 AEMO | NEM data dashboard (aemo.com.au)
21 AEMO | WEM data dashboard (aemo.com.au)
22 State-owned coal power stations to be retired by 2030 | Western Australian Government (wa.gov.au)
23 SWIS Demand Assessment 2023 to 2042 (wa.gov.au)
24 2022-wa-gas-statement-of-opportunities.pdf (aemo.com.au)

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Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

quickly flexing production up or down as required to ensure safe and
reliable energy to our communities.
vi. Australia-wide analysis such as the How to Make Net Zero Happen
report by Net Zero Australia 25, released in July 2023, found that by
2030 Australia would need to “plan and build a large fleet of gas-fired
peaking generation to help accelerate renewable growth, and close
coal power on time.”
vii. In Western Australia, the government’s SWIS Demand Assessment
2023 – 2042 report26 sees renewable energy penetration increasing
from 34% in 2022 to around 96% in 2042, with electricity demand
expected to triple over the same period.
viii. The SWIS Demand Assessment 2023 – 2042 report identified more
than 50GW new generation and storage would be required by 2042
under its ‘Future Ready’ scenario. According to the report, flexible gas
generation is a key component, with an additional 3.9GW of new
flexible gas generation (to more than double current gas-fired
generation of 3.1GW) and large scale solar paired with long discharge
energy storage required to support the ‘Future Ready’ scenario from
2030.
b. In the Asia Pacific region, growing global energy needs mean demand
for Australian LNG will remain for existing customers, but demand will
also come from other countries that look to use more LNG in their
energy mix.
i. Many Asia Pacific countries rely heavily on imported Australian LNG to
meet their energy needs. For example, Japan imports 97% of its gas
consumption.
ii. Australia is a safe and politically stable country at both a State and
Federal level, which supports the reliability of energy supply to the
region. The current geopolitical uncertainty stemming from conflicts in
Ukraine and the Middle East elevate the potential for supply
disruptions. Europe faced an energy crisis in the wake of the Russia-
Ukraine conflict, but its impacts were felt globally resulting in higher
energy prices. Just as Australia is seeking to retire coal-fired energy
production, many of our international customers for LNG are expected
to do similar as they also focus on emission reduction targets.
iii. LNG will continue to play a role in the future energy mix as
international customers retire coal assets. Gas will provide the firming
capacity needed in their electricity networks as renewables generation
increases and support Asia’s industrial and residential sectors.
iv. As the hydrogen economy develops, Australian LNG can play a key
role as a feedstock to lower carbon intensity hydrogen generation
when coupled with CCS. There are a range of scenarios for future
global gas supply and demand from third party analysts with a wide
range of uncertainty, so it will be important to factor in a range of
scenarios in policy development.

25 How to make net zero happen - Net Zero Australia final report 12 July (netzeroaustralia.net.au)
26 SWIS Demand Assessment 2023 to 2042 (wa.gov.au)

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Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

3.2 Enabling economic development
a. In Australia, Australian gas will facilitate ongoing economic
development, supporting current and new industries and jobs.
i. Gas is an important feedstock in numerous chemical and industrial
processes such as steel, aluminium, petrochemicals, and cement. This
is expected to continue for decades27 due to the significant investment
required to replace gas-fired equipment and challenges in electrifying
industrial processes requiring high heat temperatures achieved by
hydrocarbon fuels.
ii. Transitioning to alternative feedstocks will take time so reducing the
carbon intensity of existing plants (via CCS for example) will likely
happen in parallel to new plants incorporating the alternative
technology being built.
iii. In WA, AEMO’s 2022 WA GSOO report shows gas facilitates many
other industries in WA, particularly mining and minerals processing,
which consumes more than 50% of WA’s gas. These industries,
enabled by the availability of reliable and affordable energy, provide
significant royalties to government and support tens of thousands of
jobs. Indeed, in its Major Commodities Review 2022-2328, the WA
Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety found the WA’s
resources sector (including petroleum production) delivered record
sales of $254 billion and employed a record 126,480 full time workers.
iv. WA is currently by far the biggest consumer of gas of any state or
territory in Australia due to demand from mining and minerals
processing and the electricity generation sectors. In 2021-22, WA
consumed nearly as much gas as Queensland, New South Wales and
Victoria combined (673.1 PJ consumed in WA vs 688.5 PJ combined in
Qld, NSW, Vic)29. Gas also represented 53.5 per cent of total energy
consumed in WA in 2021-22.
v. Gas will also enable new industries over the medium to long term.
Critical minerals mining and processing which are vital to global efforts
to achieve net zero emissions will need significant energy inputs. As
referenced in the Australian Government’s Critical Minerals Strategy
2023-2050, “critical minerals mining and processing requires significant
amounts of energy, particularly gas” 30. In addition, use of gas can
reduce the emissions intensity of these processes. According to
McKinsey & Company in an article on Australia’s potential in the lithium
market, Australia’s “new refining plants will instead use gas, which
could reduce total mining and refining emissions by approximately 50
percent, bringing it almost in line with brine operations emissions” 31.
vi. Gas will also be important to the production of hydrogen, ammonia and
methanol, where emissions are reduced through CCS. This is true for
both the Australian market and countries in the Asia Pacific region
where customers are seeking these products for their own

27 Net-Zero Industry Requires Exponential Growth From Carbon Capture,
Hydrogen and Clean Power | BloombergNEF (bnef.com)
28 Latest statistics release (dmp.wa.gov.au)
29 Australian Energy Update 2023 see Australian Energy Statistics 2023 Table C.xlsx (live.com)
30 Critical Minerals Strategy 2023–2030 pg 40 (industry.gov.au)
31 Australia’s potential in the lithium mining market | McKinsey (mckinsey.com)

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Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

decarbonisation efforts. Facilities built to produce these products would
expect to have a plant life of 25 years or more.
vii. Stable gas supply is needed to ensure other sectors in Australia can
access gas and be confident to invest in developments that support the
energy transition. Gas consumers such as Wesfarmers detailed in their
submission to the 2023 Parliamentary Inquiry into the WA domestic
gas policy how stability of supply is crucial for WA’s ability to participate
in downstream processing of critical minerals to support global
decarbonisation.32
viii. There is potential to leverage LNG and CCS to develop low-carbon
hydrogen industries. These could be foundational to Australia’s
decarbonisation plans for hard-to-abate sectors and could be a
growing export sector for regional trading partners if economic and
policy settings are favourable. The LNG and CCS to hydrogen
pathway is an important opportunity to build out and scale hydrogen
value chains in Australia and the broader region.

3.3 Supporting the energy transition
a. In the Asia Pacific region, Australian LNG exports help customer
countries reduce their emissions intensity, by switching to gas from
more carbon-intensive energy sources.
i. Many of Australia’s LNG customers are located within countries with
net zero emissions targets by 2050-2060 (including customers based
in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, and Singapore).
ii. The International Energy Agency (IEA) and others have recognised the
value and emissions reductions benefits of switching from coal to
natural gas. Per the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL)
analysis, electricity generated from natural gas is approximately 50% of
the lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity from coal, inclusive of
emissions associated with flaring, venting, fugitives and end use 33.
iii. Without the option of sourcing Australian LNG, some customer
countries may continue using higher-carbon energy sources. Australia
therefore has the opportunity to support regional decarbonisation.
b. In the Asia Pacific region, Australia’s CCS solutions can help
customer countries meet their decarbonisation objectives.
i. Australia can help countries in the region abate emissions by
sequestering their CO2 emissions using Australian CCS projects given
our suitable geology for offshore and onshore for greenhouse gas
geosequestration.
ii. In addition, developing a large-scale CCS industry will enable Australia
to continue to benefit from its vast resource base, generating economic
benefits whilst reducing the emissions intensity of these activities.
c. In Australia, a significant amount of investment is required to support
the energy transition. Australian gas can ensure sufficient
contingencies are in place to maintain Australia’s energy security via

32 20230811 - Submission 12 - DomGas - Wesfarmers Chemicals Energy Fertilisers_Redacted.pdf (parliament.wa.gov.au)
33 Life Cycle Assessment Harmonization | Energy Analysis | NREL (nrel.gov)

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Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

affordable and reliable energy with CCS helping to reduce emissions
intensity.
i. The trajectory to net zero emissions by 2050 requires continued work
on decarbonising existing energy supplies and systems as well as
growing renewables, particularly for hard-to-abate sectors.
ii. Gas will continue to provide reliable, affordable energy to enable
Australia's smooth and timely transition to a lower carbon economy.
Under all energy transition scenarios presented in the IEA Energy
Outlook 2023 there will be continued need for natural gas. In the short
to mid-term there may be a need for increased gas consumption to
replace coal-fired power generation as seen in the AEMO 2022 WA
GSOO forecast for gas use in WA.
iii. Technology will play a major role in shaping the energy mix in both the
near and long-term future. Innovative solutions are needed to ensure
energy is lower carbon, affordable and reliable. These solutions should
consider lifecycle emissions and be cost-effective and scalable.
iv. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) notes
numerous potential pathways to achieving the goals of the Paris
Agreement in its reports 34. All pathways include the continued use of
oil and gas, even in rapid decarbonization scenarios. To achieve net
zero emissions by 2050, direct air CO2 capture and storage and CCS
must be scaled up and globally deployed. Without this technology,
these pathways cannot achieve theoretical solutions to reach net zero
in the desired time frame.
v. Chevron is working to develop and deploy CCS technologies. Our
strategy is twofold: lower the carbon intensity of our existing assets
through CCS and grow a CCS business that helps reduce emissions
intensity of the industries that enable modern society. This includes
examining technologies that are currently uncommercial, such as
through direct air capture (DAC) and reducing emissions from energy
intensive industries and power generation.
vi. CCS is a proven technology for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
At the Chevron Australia-operated Gorgon natural gas facility on
Barrow Island, the CCS facility has safely sequestered more than 8.8
million tonnes of CO2 equivalent to-date, making it the largest CCS
facility of its kind in the world. While the project has had some
challenges meeting its design capacity, Chevron Australia continues to
invest to optimise its performance.
vii. Chevron Australia is also part of three joint ventures granted three
separate greenhouse gas assessment permits for potential CCS in
Commonwealth waters offshore north-west Australia.

34 Summary for Policymakers of IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C approved by
governments — IPCC and AR6 Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change — IPCC (ipcc.ch)

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Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

3.4 Policy and regulatory opportunities for the Australian
Government to consider
a. Stable, clear and efficient government policy and regulations will be
needed to facilitate future investment in gas development in the
medium and long term.
i. Development of complex and remote offshore gas resources requires
substantial technical, commercial, and engineering work over long
timeframes. These resources depend on major infrastructure
investments to enable access to markets. Security of tenure and
confidence in the regulatory approvals process is essential to enabling
these long-term investments.
ii. Australian LNG and domestic gas projects need to compete for
international capital investment against other gas-producing
jurisdictions. Policy enablement, fiscal and regulatory certainty are key
to Australian gas projects remaining competitive.
iii. Regulatory clarity, certainty and stability can ensure Australia remains
an attractive supplier of LNG for its Asian customers, many of whom
are major investors in Australia’s gas industry and potential major
investors in future Australian low carbon energy projects. Australia has
a geographical advantage and long-term supplier relationships,
however the rapid growth in exports of LNG from the United States to
some of Australia’s traditional markets, highlights the importance of
Australia remaining competitive.
iv. Bi-partisan political support for regulations and policy settings, where
possible, would assure investors of longer-term stability of the policy
and regulatory framework.
b. Improving the efficiency, certainty and predictability of major project
assessments and approvals processes should be a priority.
i. Chevron Australia welcomes a robust regulatory system which gives
the government and community comfort project proponents and
operators are conducting their business safely and by managing any
environmental impacts.
ii. However, a key opportunity exists for projects and developments that
are critical to energy security and decarbonisation of industry to receive
priority for government and regulator assessments and processes. This
could be achieved by developing a single agency or ‘major project’
agency.
iii. Regulations relevant to gas exploration and development should be
reviewed so they provide clear and efficient regulatory processes (for
example, offshore environmental regulations and retention lease
renewals).
iv. Federal and State or Territory regulatory agencies are involved in
regulating, assessing and approving activities and permits. There are
currently instances of differing Federal and State requirements over the
same activity, which increases the complexity and reduces the
efficiency of the approvals process and subsequent monitoring and
reporting of performance against these multiple regimes.

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Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper c. Improve the investment attractiveness of Australia for major energy
projects, particularly given international investment will be needed for
large-scale low carbon energy projects.
i. Australia’s transition to a net-zero economy is expected to require “at
least a USD$1.9 trillion investment” (AUD$2.4 trillion) in the country’s
energy system by 2050.
ii. Investment attractiveness could be improved through shared
infrastructure and more efficient and streamlined approvals processes.
Being an attractive investment destination will enable ongoing
economic benefits and jobs for Australia. d. Promote a market-based approach to decarbonisation that accounts
for full life-cycle emissions profiles of various energy technologies,
allowing various technology solutions to compete on a level playing
field.
i. Refocus support for technological development and lower carbon
initiatives to be based on the life-cycle carbon intensity instead of
supporting defined technologies only.
ii. Maintain access to high quality, verifiable carbon offsets for hard-to-
abate industries to use when further technical abatement is not
possible.
e. Promote policies that incentivise investment in energy supply and
infrastructure that enables system reliability and measures that
promote energy efficiency.
i. Governments should avoid market interventions or policies that
discourage investment in Australia’s energy system as this will lead to
further supply challenges, thereby impacting energy security, and
increase the possibility of domestic price volatility.

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15
Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

4 Comments on the consultation paper
Chevron Australia has reviewed the consultation paper for the Future Gas Strategy
(Strategy) in detail, and as a general comment, is supportive of its content.
However, we would like to make some specific comments on several points made
in the consultation paper.

4.1 In the “Introduction” section
The consultation paper states the Strategy’s key objectives are to:
• support decarbonisation of the Australian economy;
• promote Australia's energy security and affordability;
• maintain Australia’s reputation as an attractive trade and investment
destination; and,
• help our trade partners on their own paths to net zero.
Chevron Australia recommends another objective of the Strategy should be to
“promote the energy security of countries in the Asia Pacific region which are also
key partners in Australia’s national security”.

4.2 In the “Introduction” section
The consultation paper states that reducing domestic gas demand faster than
supply will meet the strategy's first and second objectives.
Whether reducing gas demand can support these objectives depends on the
energy mix, full lifecycle emissions associated with other energy sources in the
mix, reliability and affordability of other energy sources, and other factors. Further,
these objectives could also be met with stable or even increasing gas usage when
supported by technical abatement and CCS. Chevron Australia suggests these
dependencies be explicitly stated.

4.3 In the “Introduction” section
The consultation paper states, “to avoid these consequences, we need to ensure
sufficient - but not excess - supply of gas to meet demand at all stages of the
energy transition.”
Chevron Australia recommends against an objective that gas supply is “not in
excess” given the potential consequences of high energy prices and energy
shortages if this was the case, particularly in the event of an unanticipated supply
disruption or if the demand projection is imperfect. Chevron Australia believes
Australia should encourage a competitive market with ample and diverse supply
which will help bring down prices through market forces and ultimately benefit
consumers with affordable and reliable energy, helping with cost-of-living
pressures.
If a company is willing to risk capital investment to supply gas, and in the end the
gas is not needed, then this outcome is at the risk of the company whilst the
government will have achieved its aim of ensuring sufficient gas supply.
In addition, with Australian gas producers regulated in Australia with conditions that
require a downward emissions trajectory to net zero emissions by 2050, the
continued use of this gas is consistent with the Australia’s transition to net zero.

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Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

4.4 In the “Chapter 1: Demand” section
The consultation paper lists the uses of Australian gas in Australia and by our trade
partners. Excluded from the list is hydrogen, ammonia and other derivatives
manufacture. Chevron Australia recommends these are included in the list of
products that use gas as a feedstock in their manufacture in point 4.

4.5 In the “Australian LNG in the world’s transition to net
zero” section
The consultation paper makes mention of the current role that coal plays in
providing energy to Asia (page 17).
Currently, Australia is the world’s largest coal exporter, and the Asia Pacific is a
major coal consumer. According to the IEA’s July 2023 Coal Market Update 35, in
2024 “China will continue to account for more than half of the world’s coal use, with
the power sector alone consuming one-third”. If India is added, “the global share
rises to about 70%, meaning that China and India together consume double the
amount of coal as the rest of the world combined”. Along with recent growth in
Southeast Asia, the “dominance of the Asia continent is further increasing. In 2024,
the share of China, India and the ASEAN region is expected to reach 76%”.
Chevron Australia recommends there be a more significant focus on the role gas
plays to displace coal and reduce CO2 emissions in the Asia Pacific region and
beyond. As Australia’s coal-fired power assets are retired and renewables
penetration increases, gas will be critical for both replacing coal and firming
renewable power generation in Australia’s energy mix. The availability of gas will
therefore ensure our energy security, whilst supporting the growth of energy
sources that lower emissions.
In the “Gas-producing regions and reserves” section, the consultation paper notes
“at current production rates, our identified reserves will be depleted in about 18
years” (page 21). We believe this is a proven reserves to production ratio and, if it
is, Chevron Australia suggests a sentence should be added that brings in overall
resource perspective, recognizing some gas resources aren’t currently
commercially viable but may be in the future. The concern with referencing solely
a proved reserve figure is it provides a narrowed view for Australia’s gas
future. Many of the forecast models, including IEA, assume some of the resources
are converted to reserves over time. For example, for the Chevron Australia-
operated Gorgon LNG facility, supply is premised on a series of backfill
developments, each of which will move 'resources' to 'reserves' over time as the
fields are developed to maintain gas supply.

35 Coal Market Update July 2023 (windows.net)

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17
Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

5 Responses to relevant consultation questions
within the consultation paper
5.1 Gas Demand
5.1.1 Question 2
What role do you see gas-fired generators playing in supporting Australia’s
82% renewable energy targets and beyond?

Response
Gas-fired power generation is critical to the successful growth of renewable energy
generation in both the NEM and WEM to provide peaking or firming power
generation when renewable energy production is intermittent. This is reflected in
Australia-wide analysis such as the How to Make Net Zero Happen report by Net
Zero Australia 36, released in July 2023, which found that by 2030 Australia would
need to “plan and build a large fleet of gas-fired peaking generation to help
accelerate renewable growth, and close coal power on time.”
Specifically in Western Australia, the WA government announced in June 2022 it
would retire state-owned coal-fired power stations by 2030 37 as renewable energy
generation increases. However, even as the percentage of renewable energy
increases, gas-fired power generation will be required, especially whilst increased
network capacity and energy storage is built to manage the fluctuating renewable
energy generation. This is because gas-fired power generation can provide grid
stability and ensure baseload power when renewable energy production is
intermittent by quickly flexing production up or down as required to ensure safe
and reliable energy to our communities.
Indeed, in the Australian Energy Market Operator’s 2022 WA Gas Statement of
Opportunities (WA GSOO) report38, “AEMO’s modelling projects that increasing
renewables penetration will be insufficient to fully compensate for the loss of coal-
fired baseload power and gas generation will have to increase to complement
renewable generation.”
The WA government’s SWIS Demand Assessment 2023 – 2042 report39 released
in May 2023 identified more than 50GW new generation and storage would be
required by 2042 under its ‘Future Ready’ scenario. Flexible gas generation is a
key component, with an additional 3.9GW of new flexible gas generation (to more
than double current gas-fired generation of 3.1GW) and large scale solar paired
with long discharge energy storage required to support the ‘Future Ready’ scenario
from 2030.

5.1.2 Question 5
How feasible, and at what scale, are alternatives to natural gas for the
electricity sector? You may wish to consider renewable gas alternatives for
peaking generation, for example, biomethane and low-emissions hydrogen

36 How to make net zero happen - Net Zero Australia final report 12 July.pdf (netzeroaustralia.net.au)
37 State-owned coal power stations to be retired by 2030 | Western Australian Government (wa.gov.au)
38 2022-wa-gas-statement-of-opportunities.pdf (aemo.com.au)
39 SWIS Demand Assessment 2023 to 2042 (wa.gov.au)

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18
Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

and other forms of grid-firming technologies like batteries and pumped
hydroelectricity. What barriers exist to using these alternatives?

Response
Currently, without policy and fiscal support, all alternatives to natural gas are less
economic or have other challenges in providing peaking or firming power to
intermittent renewables generation. In addition, turnover of existing power assets
will take time until they near or come to the end of their operational life, and grid
infrastructure investment will be needed to enable alternative technologies,
especially those that are decentralised or distributed.
A market-based approach to decarbonization that accounts for full life-cycle
emissions profiles of various energy technologies is recommended to allow various
technology solutions to compete on a level playing field. Support for technological
development and lower carbon initiatives should be based on the carbon intensity
of a project or technology instead of defined technologies only.
Alternative technologies are not as mature, and the economics are not as attractive
to stimulate investment. In some cases, policy and regulatory frameworks are yet
to be developed. Costs are forecast to improve on some elements such as solar
panels, batteries, and electrolysers but not for some time and in some cases
matched by increases in other components of project cost. Inflationary pressures
and key equipment availability driven by global demand is a concern for project
sanction.
In terms of the future opportunities for some alternative technologies there are
challenges that need to be overcome to be viable as replacement(s) for natural
gas, for example:
• Biomethane is difficult to secure in sufficient volume to be material. Although it
could have some niche applications to reduce power demands it is unlikely to
be at scale.
• Pumped hydro is dependent on suitable locations and nearby resources.
• Hydrogen should be produced close to the consumer as transport is a material
cost element. Hydrogen should be used first in hard-to-abate industries such
as steel and cement, and the first uses of hydrogen in power generation will
likely be in co-firing with gas. There is possibility to produce hydrogen from
renewables at times of excess renewables generation, store it, and then use
that hydrogen to produce energy when renewable generation wanes.
Chevron’s investment in the Advance Clean Energy Storage (ACES) project in
the US is an example of this concept40.

5.1.3 Question 9
What role might carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and negative
emissions technologies (NETs) (for example direct air capture and CO2
removal) play in decarbonising industrial processes that are hard to abate in
your business or industry?

Response
Chevron considers these technologies must be developed and implemented at
scale to meet the lower carbon objectives of the Paris Agreement.

40 Chevron acquires majority stake in the Advanced Clean Energy Storage hydrogen project in Delta, Utah (chevron.com)

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Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

This view is supported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
that notes numerous potential pathways to achieving the goals of the Paris
Agreement in its reports 41. All pathways include the continued use of oil and gas,
even in rapid decarbonisation scenarios. To achieve net zero emissions by 2050,
direct air carbon dioxide capture and storage and CCS must be scaled up and
globally deployed. Without this technology, the pathways cannot achieve
theoretical solutions to reach net zero in the desired time frame.
Chevron has deployed CCS and continues to do so. Our strategy is twofold: lower
the carbon intensity of our existing assets through CCS and grow a CCS business
that helps reduce emissions of the industries that enable modern society. CCS can
play a dual role in climate change mitigation: it can be used for technology to
remove carbon from the atmosphere with direct air capture (DAC) and reduce
emissions from point sources in energy intensive industries and power generation
as DAC technology becomes economic.
CCS is a proven technology for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. At the
Chevron-operated Gorgon LNG facility on Barrow Island, the CCS facility has
safely sequestered more than 8.8 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent to-date. Whilst
the project has had some challenges meeting its design capacity, Chevron
Australia continues to invest to optimise the performance of the system.
Dealing with CO2 emissions is a global issue. Australia has a unique opportunity to
help provide solutions in sequestering the emissions of our regional neighbours
and key trading partners. Australia has the stable political environment as well as
an advantaged geology for the storage of both domestic CO2 as well as CO2 from
overseas if policy settings and fiscal terms are favourable.
There is potential to leverage LNG and CCS to develop low-carbon hydrogen
industries with concerted efforts to attract investment in these industries. These
could be foundational to Australia’s decarbonization plans for hard-to-abate sectors
and could be a growing export sector for regional trading partners if Australia can
enhance competitiveness. The LNG and CCS to hydrogen pathway could be one
way to build out and scale hydrogen value chains in Australia and the broader
region.

5.1.4 Question 12
What do you see as the role of gas in Australia’s net-zero transformation?

Response
Gas is a reliable, secure, and competitively priced energy resource crucial to our
everyday lives in Australia. Gas plays a key role in meeting many of our energy
needs, allowing us to heat and power our homes, businesses, schools, hospitals,
manufacturing, and industrial processes such as mining and minerals processing.
Our abundant natural gas resources place Australia in an enviable position to
maintain long-term, cleaner energy security domestically and internationally. Gas
will help enable Australia's smooth and timely transition to a lower carbon
economy.

41 Summary for Policymakers of IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C approved by governments — IPCC and
AR6 Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change — IPCC and AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023
(ipcc.ch)

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Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

Gas will provide important baseload power as coal-fired power assets are retired
and to help firm intermittent renewables generation.
The International Energy Agency and others have recognised the value and
emissions reductions benefits of switching from coal to natural gas. Per the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) analysis, electricity generated
from natural gas is approximately 50% of the lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity
from coal, inclusive of emissions associated with flaring, venting, fugitives and end
use 42.
Gas use in other industries, such as steel, aluminium, petrochemicals, and cement,
is expected to continue for decades43 due to the significant investment required to
replace gas-fired equipment and challenges in electrifying industrial processes that
need high heat temperatures achieved by hydrocarbon fuels. Gas can also play a
key role in helping Australia decarbonise these hard-to-abate energy sectors as a
cost-effective feedstock to develop low-carbon hydrogen supply. In addition,
developing a large-scale CCS industry will enable Australia to continue to benefit
from its vast resource base, generating economic benefits whilst reducing the
emissions intensity of these activities.
Gas will also enable new industries important to Australia’s net-zero
transformation. Critical minerals mining and processing which are vital to global
efforts to achieve net zero emissions will need significant energy inputs. As
referenced in the Australian Government’s recently released Critical Minerals
Strategy 2023-2050, “critical minerals mining and processing requires significant
amounts of energy, particularly gas” 44.

5.1.5 Question 13
What action is your industry or company taking to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and does gas use have a role to play?

Response
Chevron Corporation supports the goals of the Paris Agreement and is committed
to helping to address climate change while continuing to deliver energy security.
Chevron Corporation believes climate policy should achieve emissions reductions
as efficiently and effectively as possible, at the least cost to economies, and that
the optimal approach is to drive the most efficient and cost-effective reductions
economy-wide, paired with natural and technological emissions removals.
Specific to Chevron Australia, as per State Ministerial Statements45 and Safeguard
Mechanism legislation the Chevron Australia-operated Gorgon and Wheatstone
LNG facilities are required to reduce emissions on a five-yearly basis on a
trajectory to net zero scope 1 emissions by 2050.
Targets to reduce CO2 intensity of our operations (scope 1 and 2) are supported by
centralised funding, and asset-by-asset assessment. Chevron has also outlined a
net zero aspiration for its upstream scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050 and is
outlining efforts to meet that overall objective. We are also working to reduce
methane emissions across our operations.

42 Life Cycle Assessment Harmonization | Energy Analysis | NREL (nrel.gov)
43 Net-Zero Industry Requires Exponential Growth From Carbon Capture, Hydrogen and Clean Power | BloombergNEF
(bnef.com)
44 Critical Minerals Strategy 2023–2030 pg 40 (industry.gov.au)
45 1732 Statement 1201 for publishing Wheatstone.pdf (epa.wa.gov.au)
1729 Statement 1198 for publishing.pdf (epa.wa.gov.au)

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Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

Chevron seeks to develop and deploy lower carbon technologies on the scale
needed for meaningful carbon reduction in hard-to-abate sectors, including its own.
Actions that Chevron Australia is taking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions:
• The Gorgon CCS system is currently the largest CCS project of its kind in the
world and is an integral part of Gorgon’s emissions reduction strategy. Chevron
Australia is sharing the lessons we have learned with the WA and Australian
Governments, research institutes and other energy producers to assist in the
deployment of CCS in Australia. Since commencement of the CCS system
Chevron Australia has:
– Safely sequestered more than 8.8 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent; and
– invested more than $3.2 billion in the Gorgon CCS system with further
investment in the coming years to improve system performance and
increase injection/storage rates.
• It is recognised that the LNG sector is a ‘hard-to-abate’ sector. Economic
technical abatement solutions are still being developed for our gas assets.
Chevron anticipates there will be a multi-faceted suite of short and long-term
solutions for lowering carbon emissions across its assets and continues to
investigate technology advances and options across energy efficiency,
electrification and fuel switching, in addition to operating Gorgon CCS.
Chevron’s WA facilities operate an islanded grid electrical system with a
continuous plant load demand. This requires reliable generation to avoid plant
upsets and trips resulting in large emissions increases from venting or flaring. This
presents a challenge to incorporating increasing quantities of renewable energy
generation and storage as the islanded grid is more susceptible to variability in
renewable electricity generation than an interconnected system. There are also
technological challenges in developing large power electrical drives capable of
replacing existing gas turbine drivers.
In terms of future gas use globally, under all energy transition scenarios presented
in the IEA Energy Outlook 202346 there will be continued need for natural gas as
discussed in other parts of this submission.

5.1.6 Question 14
How can Australian LNG accelerate global decarbonisation without
compromising energy security or affordability?

Response
Australian LNG will continue to play a role in the future global energy mix as
international customers displace more carbon-intensive fuels (e.g., switch from
coal to gas), and where consuming countries, in some cases, have limited
opportunity to import or produce renewable energy. Many developing Asia Pacific
countries are unable to develop renewable energy options (for economic reasons
or because they geographically or geologically are not well disposed to do so) and
are therefore looking to LNG to reduce their emissions through replacement of coal
and other biomass energy sources47. When existing infrastructure can be utilised,
the switch to gas can allow for immediate emissions reductions.

46 World Energy Outlook 2023 – Analysis - IEA
47 Natural Gas Crucial as Global Energy Transition Efforts Poised to Intensify - News and Views: ERIA

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Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

Australian LNG is advantaged given its regional proximity to the Asia Pacific.
Currently 70% of Australian gas is exported (primarily to Japan and Korea) as LNG
and 30% is consumed for domestic use. As international countries look to
decarbonise their economies, there will be an ongoing need for LNG. In the
medium to long term, as the hydrogen economy accelerates, Australian LNG can
play a key role as feedstock to lower carbon hydrogen generation when coupled
with CCS.
Understanding the greenhouse gas emissions from the LNG value chain is also
important when understanding LNG’s place in lower carbon energy system.
Chevron has worked with partners to develop the Statement of Greenhouse Gas
Emissions (SGE) methodology48 which seeks a consistent approach to
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions calculations throughout the LNG value chain.
Through independent verification, it enables GHG transparency and credibility of
reporting. Such a consistent reporting approach on measurement, reporting and
verification is necessary for the industry to be better aware and therefore better
manage emissions. Although generic product life cycle accounting standards are
well established, this initiative reflected the lack of a specific approach to LNG that
would govern consistency and verifiability of the SGE on a cargo-by-cargo basis.
As Australia and its regional partners seek to decarbonise their economies, gas
can displace more carbon intensive fuels and provide firming capacity in electricity
networks as renewables generation increases. Continuing to develop Australian
gas resources will also enable reliable and affordable supply. Aside from having a
policy and regulatory framework that enables gas development, Australia should
also promote policies that help to incentivise investment in energy supply and
infrastructure; that ensures system reliability; and promotes energy efficiency.

5.1.7 Question 15
What measures will increase the transparency of LNG supply chains,
including their environmental, social and governance impacts?

Response
The first step would be the development of market-based mechanisms that
incentivise emissions reductions and are linked across countries or
regions. Linked carbon pricing and markets would be one mechanism to reduce
carbon leakage and reduce the potential that LNG production moves to
jurisdictions with no carbon pricing mechanism. Stronger industry standards that
help benchmark various energy sources on a full life-cycle emissions basis will
also allow energy sources to compete for market share linked to their overall
emissions footprint.
Chevron Corporation has developed the Statement of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
(SGE) methodology 49 in collaboration with QatarEnergy LNG and Pavilion
(Singapore gas utility). The SGE methodology is one of the first published
methodologies specifically developed to quantify the greenhouse gas emissions
(GHG) associated with a delivered LNG cargo. It provides a measurement,
reporting and verification methodology which complements common GHG
reporting processes to deliver a consistent, verified SGE for each delivered LNG
cargo. The SGE methodology is intended for industry-wide adoption and is
applicable across the LNG value chain - from wellhead to delivery point. It can be

48 SGE-methodology.pdf (chevron.com)
49 SGE-methodology.pdf (chevron.com)

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Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper

used by integrated producers and operators of individual segments that contribute
to the value chain GHG footprint.
Chevron Corporation believes lifecycle analysis (LCA) is a powerful tool to enable
data-driven decisions. A lifecycle approach to carbon accounting facilitates
informed decision making throughout the value chain. Carbon data that is
consistent, reliable, and transparent across sectors, products, and firms of all sizes
can be used to understand the carbon performance associated with a good or
service at each stage of the lifecycle, from production to manufacturing to
transport. Aggregating the data enables a full lifecycle assessment that can
improve the quality of decision making at each point at which policy, manufacturing
or purchasing decisions are made. Such an approach could enable policymakers
to drive the most pragmatic policy, incentivise producers to abate more, inform
buyers on making lower carbon choices in a standardised manner and identify
more cost-efficient emissions reduction options.

5.1.8 Question 19
What options should the Australian Government consider to ensure
international investment in Australian LNG projects remains competitive?

Response
There is intense global competition for energy investment capital. In addition to
competing against alternative energy investments, Australian LNG projects will
need to compete for capital against the US and other LNG producing jurisdictions,
where the time from investment decision to projects coming online is more
compressed.
International investors place high value on a free market with fiscal and regulatory
stability. These have historically been key differentiators that have enabled
Australia to attract significant investment, despite the high cost of building and
operating projects in Australia. That said, there is increasing competition for
international investment funds. The shift in global investment trends, led by the US
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), demonstrates how enabling policy settings are
critical to attracting international investment. It is leading many energy companies
to review their investment decisions and future portfolios, given the incentives on
offer. However, economic incentives, like those provided by the IRA, are only one
of a complex set of factors and policy settings that encourage investment.
There have been several regulatory and policy changes in Australia impacting LNG
projects in relatively quick succession. These include changes to the Safeguard
Mechanism and changes to the fiscal regime. There has also been government
intervention in the East Coast gas market, including price caps, which contradicts
the fundamental economic principles applied when making investment decisions.
While any one change may not deter future investment singlehandedly, the
cumulative impacts of multiple changes can impact Australia’s competitiveness as
a place in which to invest in future energy supply.
While Chevron welcomes a robust regulatory system for all facets of our business,
it needs to be navigable within an acceptable timeframe, and provide certainty that
once approvals are granted and conditions established, they will be adhered to by
all parties.
This is particularly relevant as we consider future investments in Australia, with
both Federal and State or Territory regulatory agencies being involved in
regulating, assessing and approving activities and permits. There are currently
instances of differing Federal and State requirements over the same activity, which

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increases the complexity and reduces the efficiency of both the approvals process
and the subsequent monitoring and reporting of performance against these
multiple regimes. Regulatory clarity, certainty and stability will ensure that Australia
remains an attractive supplier of LNG for its Asian customers, many of whom are
also investors.
Securing long term sales contracts underpins investment decisions in long term
large-scale LNG projects, and without the customers, the investments will not be
made. Efficient and effective regulation is also critical to enabling development of
new energy industries and reducing the carbon intensity of existing assets.
Specific options the Australian Government could consider are:
• Create a single agency to coordinate the required approvals for projects that
support energy security for Australia and the region;
• Align Federal and State regulations, to increase efficiencies for all parties;
• Ensure optionality is available to meet compliance requirements, such as the
use of emission reduction technologies, offsets and credits to meet the
Safeguard Mechanism requirements;
• Policy enablement for trans-border carbon movement for sequestration that will
assist the region to decarbonise;
• Regulatory certainty and streamlining of permitting processes, including
reviewing regulations relevant to gas exploration and development to provide
clear and efficient regulatory processes (for example, offshore environmental
regulations, and application of regulations in relation to renewal of retention
leases); and,
• A bi-partisan approach to regulation and policy settings, where possible, to
assure investors of longer-term stability of policy and regulatory frameworks.
Chevron Australia would welcome the opportunity to discuss these options with
government in more detail.

5.2 Gas Supply
5.2.1 Question 21
What is the role of offshore acreage releases in the context of consumer
demand and emissions targets? What factors should the Australian
Government consider when releasing acreage?

Response
Offshore acreage releases and acreage awards are important to underpin future
gas supply and backfill of existing LNG export and domestic gas supply facilities.
The lead-time from the release of exploration acreage to development of any
discoveries is typically at least a decade. Acreage releases this decade therefore
underpin next decade’s supply and hence future energy security and affordability.
Delays or uncertainties in acreage releases may lead to less competitive
exploration service provision, higher costs for developers and less attractive
investments, and ultimately less future supply options.
Supplying Australia’s and the world’s future energy needs should see gas
resources developed that are both cost effective, and which are intrinsically lower
carbon compared to other fossil fuels such as coal. If these low cost and lower

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carbon resources exist outside existing acreage, then the release of such acreage
would support both demand for affordable energy and emissions reduction
compared to more carbon intensive fossil fuels.

5.2.2 Question 22
How could the offshore petroleum regime be improved to meet the
objectives of the strategy?

Response
To provide energy security, improvements could be made to the offshore
petroleum and retention leases regimes.
Greater regulatory facilitation support via agencies at Federal and State levels
would assist proponents navigate government approvals. Agencies could
coordinate the timely approvals of major resource projects needed to provide
firming for renewables, reliable supply to mining processing facilities and to power
the growing critical minerals and rare earths sector.
Regulatory amendments improvements could be made regarding:
• Stakeholder consultation:
– Amendments to NOPSEMA oil spill guidelines50 to provide a more
appropriate geographical area for the environment that may be affected
which in turn informs the stakeholders that need to consulted.
– Amendments to Offshore Petroleum Greenhouse Gas Storage
Environment Regulations to provide certainty on consultation requirements
for both proponents and stakeholders.
• Streamlining opportunities and removing duplication:
– Consistency between State and Federal requirements.
– Streamlining approval mechanisms for non-significant changes.
Investor certainty could be improved by lengthening the renewal term of retention
leases 51 for gas fields (e.g. from 5 to 10 years or more) where operators have:
• existing infrastructure in the basin;
• minimal current capacity available in the facility;
• viable plans to develop the resources; and
• a track-record of ongoing development.
Future backfields, currently under retention lease, have underpinned the
investment decisions for major LNG and domestic gas supply projects in Australia.
For example, for the Gorgon LNG facility, the availability of Gorgon-aligned backfill
fields to maintain gas supply underpinned the LNG investment. The Gorgon Joint
Venture 52 has spent considerable investment exploring and appraising these
resources. Timing of these backfill developments is dictated by available plant
capacity, and where the goal is to keep a plant full for its design life (40-plus

50 A382148 | Oil Pollution Risk Management Guidance Note, National Offshore Petroleum Safety Environmental
Management Authority (nopsema.gov.au)
51 Guideline: Retention leases (nopta.gov.au)
52 The Chevron-operated Gorgon Project is a joint venture of the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (47.3 percent),
ExxonMobil (25 percent), Shell (25 percent), Osaka Gas (1.25 percent), Tokyo Gas (1 percent) and JERA (0.417 percent).

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years), so the 5-year duration for renewals for retention leases could be seen as a
risk to security of long-term gas supply.
Development of these gas resources via existing infrastructure is typically the most
cost-effective, avoids the duplication of infrastructure and associated
environmental impact, and is the most commercially aligned solution.

5.2.3 Question 23
What are the major barriers and opportunities for new supply? How can the
Australian Government prioritise, mitigate or manage these?

Response
Timely regulatory review and response is important to ensuring future
developments can be planned effectively and with certainty, so new gas supplies
can be brought into production as required.
Development of complex and remote offshore gas resources requires substantial
technical, commercial, and engineering work over long time frames. These
resources depend on major infrastructure investments to enable access to
markets. Security of tenure and confidence in the regulatory approvals process is
essential to enabling these long-term investments.
Several recommendations on what the Australian Government could do to
prioritise, mitigate, or manage these barriers and opportunities are given in the
answer to question 19.
Similarly, fiscal regime stability and certainty underpins these long-term
investments through providing confidence that the investment returns anticipated
at project sanction can ultimately be achieved.

5.2.4 Question 24
What are some of the opportunities for gas production in Australia in the
medium (to 2035) and long term (to 2050)? How could these necessary
developments support decarbonisation consistent with achieving emissions
reductions goals?

Response
Oil and gas reservoirs and resources decline naturally over time when in
production. Investment is needed to maintain production in order to meet projected
demand, even in lower carbon scenarios. Given this, we will continue to develop
resources to help fulfill Australia’s demand for energy.
For example, to continue supply feed gas to the Gorgon Project, fabrication is now
underway on the $6 billion Jansz-Io Compression (J-IC) project, which is a key
investment to maintain production from the Jansz-Io field using proven, world-
leading subsea compression technology, with expected start-up in 2027.
Chevron is also planning the next phase of development of the Gorgon Gas
Backfill Fields53, with activities to start the development of the next field proposed
to commence in 2025. Gorgon is expected to have a lifespan of more than 40
years, providing long term reliable gas supply to domestic and global customers.
In parallel with the J-IC and Gorgon Gas Backfill Fields developments to maintain
feed supply to the existing Gorgon LNG and domestic gas plant, where we are also

53 Information on the Gorgon Gas Development backfill fields (australia.chevron.com)

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progressing plans to optimise the Gorgon CCS system and are exploring technical
abatement solutions that can be developed and deployed at scale, in addition to
using verifiable offsets.
Growing a CCS industry in Australia can support decarbonisation efforts, reducing
the emissions impact of gas production while supporting the energy needs of our
domestic and global customers.
An emerging opportunity for Australian gas is the potential usage, combined with
CCS technology, as a feedstock for hydrogen or ammonia production to support
decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors. Australia’s large gas resource base,
suitable geology for CCS, and proximity to Asian markets makes Australia ideally
positioned to capture this future export opportunity.

5.2.5 Question 27
How can all levels of governments better support the industry to engage with
First Nations people and community groups?

Response
Chevron Australia is committed to meaningful consultation and the development of
long-term relationships with First Nations People.
With respect to forthcoming projects and developments, Chevron Australia has
significant resources and robust stakeholder consultation processes in place.
Chevron Australia has been consulting, and strengthening our relationships, with
Traditional Owner groups whose functions, interests or activities may be affected
by our activities.
However, Chevron Australia is concerned about the impact on reliable energy
supply and the burden on First Nations People as a result of the uncertainty of the
current consultation requirements.
Chevron Australia is committed to working with Government and First Nations
People to co-design an appropriate consultation framework that meets the
requirements of all stakeholders.
Under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Environment)
Regulations 2009 (OPGGS(E) Regs), Chevron Australia has proposed
recommendations to improve the stakeholder consultation process. These would
provide more certainty, reduce relevant persons ‘fatigue’ by providing more
focussed consultations and address timeframes.
These practical proposals would bring clarity and certainty, while upholding
consultation rights, that are aligned with the Federal Court decisions in 2022.
Chevron Australia would welcome the opportunity to provide additional information
on these proposals if required.

5.3 Reducing Emissions
5.3.1 Question 28
How can Australia support the potential for cost-effective, safe and verifiable
CCS projects, including for the gas sector, other industries and our region?

Response
The Gorgon CCS system has safely stored more than 8.8 million tonnes of
greenhouse gas emissions to date, demonstrating the meaningful contribution
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CCS technology can play in the pursuit of a lower carbon future. Australia has a
natural competitive advantage to implement CCS with known high quality, stable
geological storage basins, existing infrastructure, well-established technical
expertise and regulatory regimes (environment protection, carbon accounting and
reporting, financial services). Low-cost carbon abatement can see Australia
maintain its position as a leading energy exporter and ensure international
competitiveness in a lower-carbon future. CCS provides the potential to deliver
competitive, large-scale abatement for existing industries and new industries such
as hydrogen and ammonia.
Australia can support the potential for cost-effective, safe and verifiable CCS
projects by:
• Enabling low emissions technology funding. Low emissions technology funding
is an important element of any national climate change policy approach.
Existing funding and potential future funding could provide important measures
to support low emissions technology development and accelerate a range of
innovative emissions reduction opportunities.
• A clear and stable regulatory environment is required which ultimately
encourages investment (incentivising greater levels of investment by the private
sector) and the rapid, at-scale development of technologies that are in line with
climate change imperatives.
• Targeted government policies that promote support for research, development
and deployment of technologies to enable scalable solutions, drive down cost
and improve performance in relation to carbon capture.
• Avoiding policies that limit or exclude specified sectors from participation to
avoid potential ineffective frameworks.
• Investment in shared infrastructure such as networks of CO2 pipelines will help
drive down capex cost and potentially connect hard-to-abate sectors to
identified CCS hubs.
• Policy enablement for transborder carbon movement for sequestration that will
assist the region to decarbonise.

5.4 Australia’s Gas Workforce & LNG Facilities
5.4.1 Question 34
Are you able to attract and retain the workforce and skills you need? How
will these shift as we transition to net zero emissions?

Response
Chevron Australia is currently able to attract employees and the skills required,
however, there is a shortage in petroleum and earth science (geology and
geophysics) engineering graduates. This is in part because universities are
reducing or no longer offering courses in these areas. For example, the University
of Western Australia no longer offers a Petroleum Engineering degree due to
declining enrolments. Many of the skills obtained by these degrees are transferable
to low carbon energy or emission abatement projects such as CCS.
Our ability to retain our workforce may be impacted by our actions in the energy
transition and in particular our ability to engage the younger working generations in
finding solutions to deliver ever-cleaner, reliable and affordable energy. However,

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workforce retention has not been a problem with a very low turnover rate of
employees.
Diversified skill sets and a continuous learning and upskilling will also be important
for employees to stay relevant.

5.4.2 Question 35
What are your long-term business and investment plans beyond 2035? How
might these affect local economies, employment and communities?

Response
The Chevron operated Gorgon and Wheatstone facilities are multi-decade
developments.
We continue to progress design work on future subsea projects, which remain
subject to regulatory approvals and investment decisions by Chevron and its joint
venture participants.
In the near term, our focus is to continue to safely produce reliable and affordable
natural gas for our customers – both in Western Australia and across the Asia
Pacific region.
To do that, we’re progressing our major projects, and starting work to bring on new
supply for our existing Gorgon and Wheatstone assets.
For Gorgon, we’ve now identified the next fields that will supply the plant over the
next 40 years and commenced consultation to start the environmental approvals
process. At the same time, we’re optimizing the Gorgon CCS system to sequester
more of the associated reservoir CO2 emissions.
Chevron is part of three joint ventures that have been granted an interest in three
offshore greenhouse gas (GHG) assessment permits. The permits authorise us to
explore an area covering nearly 7.8 million acres – an area larger than Belgium –
for potential GHG storage formations or injection sites.
Chevron has invested with Carbon Sync, a soil carbon farming project developer,
to develop soil sequestration projects in Western Australia. Through holistic
management and regenerative farming practices, Carbon Sync aims to improve
soil health, enhancing its ability to capture and sequester carbon. Our investment
with Carbon Sync intends to provide critical learning and insight related to the
commercial and technical aspects of soil carbon projects.

5.4.3 Question 36
Describe the projects or best practice examples of industry engagement with
the local community, as well as the benefits these projects bring to the
people and regional economy?

Response
In 2021, the Chevron-operated Wheatstone Project commissioned an independent
consultant to assess the community needs and aspirations in Onslow – the Onslow
Community Perception Survey. The process consisted of a discovery phase,
involving stakeholder mapping, communication material development, and a
literature review to understand the community's demographics. The design phase
included stakeholder interviews, focus groups, and community engagement events
to collect insights.

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The collected data was analysed thematically to identify social needs and service
gaps, resulting in a Social Needs Analysis and Program Evaluation Report
delivered to Chevron with key findings and recommendations for service and
program improvement in Onslow. This report informed Chevron’s funding decisions
going forward.
We’re committed to working in partnership with local communities to help them
thrive. Our social investment is traditionally focused on improving health, education
and economic outcomes.
In 2023, we will contribute A$14 million to social investment in Australia. We’re
also a founding contributor of the joint State Government and industry Resources
Community Investment Initiative (RCII), pledging to contribute $50 million to
support social and critical infrastructure investment in WA.

5.5 Domestic Gas Supply
5.5.1 Question 39
What are the risks to Australia’s domestic gas security in the medium (to
2035) to long term (to 2050) for your industry and how can these be
addressed?

Response
The Chevron Australia-operated Gorgon and Wheatstone gas plants produce
approximately 45% of the gas supplied to the Western Australian domestic
market. Chevron Australia is not a participant in East Coast domestic gas markets.
The key risk to domestic gas security for Western Australia is that the ongoing
investment required to develop new gas fields will be delayed or may not be
committed at all due to instability in the policy and regulatory environment and
delays in project assessment and approvals. If this was to occur, gas supplies
would not be available in a timely manner, potentially creating a supply shortage
for both Australian and international customers.
As noted previously, the WA Government’s South West Interconnected System
Demand Assessment 2023 to 2042 54 showed that under the ‘Future Ready’
scenario new renewable generation and retiring the state-owned coal generation
assets will require support from an additional 3.9GW of new flexible gas generation
capacity.
Chevron Australia recently submitted our views on the Western Australian
domestic gas market in response to the terms of reference of the WA
Parliamentary Inquiry into the WA Domestic Gas Policy55. The WA domestic gas
policy aims to secure WA’s long-term energy needs and ongoing economic
development by ensuring that LNG exporters also make gas available to the
domestic market. Our submission outlined the risk that changes to the policy may
have unintended longer-term consequences for investment decisions and
ultimately gas prices in the WA domestic market.
Policy stability has played an important role in bringing significant volumes of LNG-
linked domestic gas to the WA market, by providing the regulatory certainty
needed to make long-term, multi-billion-dollar investments in co-developed LNG
and domestic gas projects. We therefore encouraged the WA Government to

54 SWIS Demand Assessment 2023 to 2042 (wa.gov.au)
55 20230814 - Submission 13 - DomGas - Chevron Australia_Redacted.pdf (parliament.wa.gov.au)

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recommit to the current policy settings for offshore producers, providing the policy
certainty needed to inform future investment to ensure WA has sufficient domestic
gas supply to 2030 and beyond.
In the medium-term, this will help support gas supply from operating domestic gas
facilities, which require continued investment in developing new fields to backfill, or
maintain, feed gas supply as the production from existing fields declines. Equally,
increasing the diversity of supply sources, including through new gas
developments, such as those of onshore fields in the Perth and Canning Basins, is
a key enabler of energy security for WA.
Streamlining and expediting regulatory approvals processes for gas projects, both
offshore and onshore, (similar to the WA government Green Energy Approvals
Initiative56) would also help accelerate bringing supply into the WA domestic gas
market. This is particularly important during the current period of market tightness
in which prices have increased, with the most effective way to put downward
pressure on prices being to bring more supply to market.
We look forward to reviewing the recommendations of the Inquiry and engaging
with the WA Government on its responses.

5.5.2 Question 41
What reforms can be made at a Commonwealth, state, territory, or industry
level to allow gas supply to be more responsive to domestic demand
signals?

Response
At both the Commonwealth and state level, ensuring gas supply is developed to
meet demand signals will require Australia to have a stable, clear, and efficient
policy and regulatory framework.
To achieve this, Chevron Australia recommends that the Australian Government
should:
• Clarify and amend its major project assessments and approvals processes to
improve efficiency, certainty and predictability for major projects whilst
maintaining a robust regulatory framework, and review regulations relevant to
gas exploration and development to ensure they facilitate gas development (for
example, application of regulations in relation to renewal of retention leases).
This includes ensuring assessments are streamlined where possible,
particularly when both Federal and State government agencies have oversight
of a project activity and there is a risk of duplication or inconsistency between
Federal and State requirements.
• Provide a pathway to prioritise projects and developments critical to energy
security and decarbonisation of energy in Australia and the region for
government and regulator assessments and processes. The Western
Australian government has recently implemented the Green Energy Approvals
Initiative. A similar initiative for gas developments critical to Australia’s energy
security should be considered.
At the state level, domestic gas supply is a factor of the interplay between
investment in LNG projects and the State’s domestic gas reservation policy, as
well as domestic demand signals. As outlined in Chevron Australia’s submission to

56 Green Energy Approvals Initiative | Western Australian Government (wa.gov.au)

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Submission to the Australian Government’s
Future Gas Strategy Consultation Paper the WA Parliamentary Inquiry into the WA Domestic Gas Policy, the stability afforded by the WA domestic gas policy for almost two decades has supported the multi-billion-dollar investments in LNG projects and their associated domestic gas facilities, which has in turn supported a well-functioning WA domestic gas market.
Beyond the policy, the WA Government should allow the market to function and not intervene to artificially reduce prices or, for example, increase the percentage of offshore gas required to be reserved for the WA domestic gas market. Such further interventions, or any other potential government intervention, would be counterproductive to the objective of increasing supply and could discourage additional supply from coming to market. The most effective way to put downward pressure on prices being to bring more supply to market.

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