Australian PM to push Australia

Australian PM to push Australia's LNG supply record on US visit

Sydney (Platts)--2Jun2004


Prime Minister John Howard plans to push Australia's reliability as a supplier
of LNG during a visit to the US this week. Howard is being accompanied by BHP
Billiton chairman Don Argus on a visit to California Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger. Howard plans to lobby Schwarzenegger over BHP Billiton's
proposed development of an offshore terminal which would allow Western
Australian LNG to be supplied to southern California. "There is a tremendous
potential in an energy partnership between Australia and the United States,
particularly the west coast of the United States, which is badly in need of
energy," he said in an interview transcript released Wednesday. "We have lots
of natural gas, we are a very reliable supplier, and the costs now of carrying
it long distance are very competitive, so I will be hoping to argue very
strongly that Australia is the best place from which to source the supply, and
of course BHP Billiton is the company." BHP Billiton last year unveiled a plan
for an 800-mil cu ft/day LNG facility to be moored 32 km off California.

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