A new Heads of Agreement, signed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and LNG exporters, Australia Pacific LNG, Queensland Curtis LNG and Gladstone LNG will help secure competitively priced gas supply for the east coast market at least until 2023.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Agreement ensures Australian businesses and families have the gas supply they need at the cheapest possible price.

“As part of our JobMaker plan we are delivering more Australian gas where it is needed at an internationally competitive price, this particularly includes manufacturing businesses who employ more than 850,000 Australians, many of which rely on gas to operate,” he said.

Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia, Keith Pitt, commented that the new Heads of Agreement makes sure Australia does not experience a shortfall in supply at the expense of exports.

“The strengthened Heads of Agreement commits LNG exporters to offer uncontracted gas to the domestic market first on competitive market terms before it is exported.”

“It complements the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism which also references the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) LNG netback price series,” he said.

“Both the AEMO and ACCC have found east coast of Australia has a low, but increasing, risk of facing a gas shortfall.”

Minister Pitt added that the Government is working to achieve the right balance between affordable gas for manufacturers and a price that encourages new gas resource development.