Oil and gas deliver more value than Olympics

Queensland’s gas industry has the potential to add more value than the 2032 Olympic Games to the state’s economy, a new report shows. Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) chief executive Andrew McConville said the EY report showed the oil and gas industry had the potential to turbocharge Queensland’s economy for years to come. “When it comes to adding economic value to Queensland, natural gas clearly takes the Gold,” Mr McConville said. “Gas means jobs, gas means cleaner energy and gas means economic prosperity for our state, particularly regional Queensland. “The report shows the industry has already added $106 billion or 3 per cent per annum to the Queensland economy over the last decade, employing more than 36,000 workers and paying $13 billion in taxes. “But this is the tip of the iceberg, EY are predicting a bright future for Queensland’s gas industry driven by high demand for cleaner energy in Asia as they look to switch from coal to gas due to our product’s lower emissions. “EY have found that fully unleashing Queensland’s gas industry potential could result in a further $30 billion in investment producing 7000 PJ of production capacity in the Queensland oil and gas industry over the next 20 years." A further $129.3 billion could be added to Queensland’s Gross State Product in the next 20 years under a high-growth scenario, Mr McConville said. ( Under the low-growth scenario used in modelling that would be $64 billion). Almost 2200 more jobs in 2026 The high-growth scenario would see Queensland’s economic output by $8.7 billion in 2026. “The benefits of this investment are particularly pronounced in the short-term, with almost 2200 extra full-time jobs created in 2026 under a high growth scenario," Mr McConville said. “To put these huge numbers into perspective, the annual tax revenue generated by these new projects would be $1.4 billion – that’s the same as funding 20 primary schools, 25 police stations, 30 fire stations and employing an extra 1000+ teachers and nurses.” Acting Queensland director Matt Paull said the report also showed that parts of the economy would benefit from a reduction in gas prices and an increase in productivity. “The benefits for the environment are also immense,” said Mr Paull. “The Australian Government estimates Australian LNG exports have the potential to lower emissions in LNG-importing countries by about 170 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent (Mt CO2‑e) a year by providing an alternative to higher emissions fuels. That equates to over a third of Australia’s total annual emissions. “Natural gas has only half the greenhouse gas emissions of coal when used to generate electricity and it can do things renewables simply cannot do such as provide the high temperatures and essential feedstock needed to produce manufactured products like fertilisers, cement, steel and plastics. “Our industry is making billion-dollar investments in emissions-reduction technologies. The oil and gas industry has the technology, skills, experience and commercial relationships to develop a world-scale hydrogen industry both domestically and for export. “Our industry’s investment in carbon capture and storage is already removing about 40 Mt CO2‑e a year, but we have bigger ambitions to grow this even further.”

Oil and gas deliver more value than Olympics

Industry Queensland

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