The Australian federal government has released its Energy White Paper, which includes market reforms designed to attract energy resources investment, stabilise energy price rises, and prepare for the future energy security. Australia aims to streamline environmental and other approvals to accelerate projects and to enhance its international competitiveness. The country will pursue its tariff reform (including electricity network tariff reform to limit cross-subsidies) and encourage further privatisations (in the generation, transmission and retail businesses). Australia aims to boost gas supply to avoid potential supply shortages and to reform gas markets. Finally, the country aims to improve domestic energy security and cut greenhouse gas emission intensity. Despite its uranium production, Australia will not develop nuclear power in the middle term; the country has an overcapacity in generation, expected to last until 2023-2024. The Green Paper will be open for consultation until 4 November 2014; the Energy White Paper is expected in late 2014.
Despite the focus on gas production development, the government of New South Wales (Australia) has decided to extend by one year its ban on new licence applications for coal seam gas (CSG) exploration. The ban was enacted in March 2014 for six and was expected to expire at the end of September 2014. The extension will enable the government to review its application process.
Interested in Global Energy Research?
Enerdata's premium online information service provides up-to-date market reports on 110+ countries. The reports include valuable market data and analysis as well as a daily newsfeed, curated by our energy analysts, on the oil, gas, coal and power markets.
This user-friendly tool gives you the essentials about the domestic markets of your concern, including market structure, organisation, actors, projects and business perspectives.