Oil & gas reinforces Australia’s budget surplus while throwing support behind net-zero agenda

The Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) has outlined the role the oil and gas industry plays in Australia’s economy, as the sector helped underpin the latest Western Australian (WA) budget surplus while backing net-zero measures.

By fueling the WA budget surplus, the oil and gas sector is powering industries critical to the economy and directly helping fund public services and infrastructure, as the budget’s climate action plan included measures to enable businesses to accelerate to net-zero and support the deployment of new technology such as carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), highlights APPEA.

This comes after the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association threw support behind the Climate Change Authority’s focus on carbon capture technology last month, following CCA’s report, which underscored the importance of CCUS to reaching net-zero, urging for more support to back the technology.

Caroline Cherry, APPEA’s WA Director, commented: “The oil and gas industry is helping deliver the public services and infrastructure Western Australians rely on such as schools, hospitals and roads. Gas is a critical energy source for a raft of sectors including manufacturing and mineral processing which provide so many economic benefits for WA and substantial revenues for the budget.”

While emphasising the industry’s enduring and broad economic role, APPEA’s WA Director explained that about 70,000 jobs were supported along the state’s gas industry supply chain at a time the budget said WA was hitting record employment levels. Cherry also pointed out that the oil and gas industry itself was making a substantial direct contribution with Commonwealth grants for North West Shelf oil and gas exports estimated at $1.4 billion this financial year alone, up $400 million from the previous one.

“This wide role in the economy has enabled these industries beyond the petroleum sector to grow, employing more Western Australians and delivering more cash to the government. The industry understands its role in the energy transformation to net-zero and shares the national commitment to net-zero across the economy by 2050,” added Cherry.

In addition, APPEA’s WA Director highlights that the industry supported new measures as part of the state’s climate action plan, including LNG Jobs Taskforce funding to investigate CCUS technology and a decarbonisation package for heavy industries.

“These measures are a step in the right direction towards that target and WA’s cleaner energy future,” concluded Cherry.