A domestic gas producer has slammed the risk to investment and the nation’s energy supply from green tape and a “minority of activists with extreme views”.
Media boss Ryan Stokes, speaking on Wednesday as chair of oil and gas producer Beach Energy, said there were still “significant headwinds” facing the energy industry despite some progress from governments on approvals.
Regulators have warned of a possible gas shortfall in winter 2025 on the east coast, while rising industrial demand for energy and coal’s exit on the west coast is forecast to create a supply deficit in that market in the 2030s.
“We are constantly battling ideological rhetoric which is having detrimental effects on communities, economies and gas supply,” Mr Stokes told the annual shareholders’ meeting in Adelaide.
Mr Stokes said gas projects continued to face extensive and costly delays when it came to gaining environmental approval.
“The ambiguity and complexity of these processes have left them open to lawfare by a minority of activists with extreme views, which poses a major risk to new projects and stymies investment decisions,” he said.
So-called “lawfare” involves the use of legal action by individuals and organisations to stop fossil fuel production or to influence government climate and environmental policy.
“We do not have to look far to see the folly of abandoning achievable and realistic action for ideological motives,” he said, citing an exploration ban in New Zealand that has been reversed to bolster energy security.
Chief executive Brett Woods said the realised gas price for the year was up eight per cent to $9.50 per gigajoule thanks to new contracts, re-pricing of the Otway Basin Gas Sales Agreement and higher spot prices over winter.
He said the recent commissioning of the Moomba carbon capture and storage project was a “pivotal moment” for Beach Energy and the nation’s emission reduction goals.
Earnings fell three per cent to $950 million in fiscal 2024, on a nine per cent rise in sales revenue to $1.8 billion despite a seven per cent fall in production to 18.2 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Mr Woods revealed further woes at the Waitsia project in the Perth Basin, one of the largest gas fields ever discovered onshore in Australia, that was initially slated for first production in 2024.
But he was confident of seeing first gas from the plant in early calendar 2025.
“Once complete, the Waitsia Gas Plant will be a critical piece of infrastructure for the domestic market,” he said.
Beach Energy shares eased one cent to $1.24 in early afternoon trade.
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