Western Australia’s oil & gas support ‘record resources sales’ & headcount increase

The Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) believes that Western Australia (WA)’s Mineral and Petroleum Review 2021-22 highlights the importance of the oil and gas industry to the state and national economies, as this sector has reinforced WA’s fourth straight resources sales record.

APPEA disclosed on Wednesday that Western Australia’s oil and gas industry had underpinned the fourth straight year of “record resources sales,” which gathered $231 billion in mineral and petroleum sales, delivering “record petroleum results and helping power the state’s miners to new highs as the resources sector employs more people than ever.”

Commenting on this, Claire Wilkinson, APPEA WA Director, pointed out that the results showed “how critical gas was to the WA economy – both in terms of exports but also in providing reliable, secure and affordable domestic gas that drives the mining and minerals sector.” This entails powering much of WA’s $137 billion in iron ore sales and record $4.9 billion in nickel sales, underpinning the resources sector’s employment of over 157,700 workers.

“WA is Australia’s largest consumer of gas, driven by mining and minerals processing – from iron ore, to minerals such as lithium and nickel which are vital to a cleaner energy future. The development of WA’s gas industry has underpinned these sectors through providing secure, affordable and reliable energy to the domestic market,” added Wilkinson.

While the petroleum sales returned to pre-pandemic levels after a 22 per cent improvement in their share of total resources sales, LNG production was valued at “a record high” of $38 billion, condensate production at $8.6 billion, domestic gas at $1.6 billion, crude oil production at a seven-year high of $3.6 billion, and LPG at a ten-year-high of $708 million.

“In many instances, these gas reserves powering WA’s resources sector would not have been developed but for export opportunities, as WA’s domestic demand is alone often insufficient to warrant these multi-billion dollar investments. Through providing secure and reliable energy, the natural gas industry has also underpinned WA’s resources sector’s highest-ever employment figures,” concluded Wilkinson.

APPEA also recently reported that Australia’s LNG exporters are set to almost triple their financial contribution to the public this financial year and welcomed upward revisions for gas exports due to the Australian Government’s latest Resources and Energy Quarterly report.

This forecast shows the importance of bringing on new gas supply to Australia’s economy, with strong international demand helping governments fund public services and infrastructure while strengthening domestic energy security, according to APPEA.