APPEA says the oil and gas industry played a pivotal role underpinning the recently revealed Western Australian Budget surplus.
This comes after The Federal Government said it would amend the PRRT tax on offshore operators to raise tax after record LNG export revenue for the Top End of Town in recent years.
APPEA had warned that Australia risked losing out on foreign investment if government continued to move the goalposts and interfere in a sector which had delivered all that was asked of it and more during the Covid pandemic and by increasing production to sustain east coast supply and maintain exports.
APPEA said the Western Australia budget surplus was assisted by an O&G industry that was powering industries critical to the economy.
The peak body noted that the Budget’s climate action plan included measures enabling business to accelerate to net zero and support the deployment of new technology such as carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS).
APPEA WA Director Caroline Cherry said 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.
“The oil and gas industry is helping deliver the public services and infrastructure Western Australians rely on such as schools, hospitals and roads,” she said.
“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.
“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.”
Ms Cherry said 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 previously.
Ms Cherry said 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.
“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,” she said.
“These measures are a step in the right direction towards that target and WA’s cleaner energy future.”
