17-08-04

Labour has signalled plans for more investment in technology to convert natural gas and coal to transport fuels to offset the impact of skyrocketing oil prices.

Australian Labour Party energy spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon said the government had no real plan to deal with Australia's dependence on imported oil. He said with oil prices hitting $ 46 a barrel and few new finds of oil in Australia, more had to be done to find alternative transport fuels.

Technology which converted gas to transport fuels would be a priority of a Labour government, he said.
"A Labour government will give the task of bringing more of our offshore gas reserves onshore and establishing a gas to liquids industry the priority it requires and deserves," he told a conference in Melbourne. "In addition, Australia has an abundance of coal which could add decades to Australia's oil self sufficiency if they were converted to clean liquid transport fuels."

Mr Fitzgibbon said coal to liquids technology was also the key to commercialising clean coal technology for power generation and reducing greenhouse emissions from coal fired plant. He said Australia was consuming oil three times faster than it was finding it and had been doing so for the past seven years.

Using the nation's natural gas reserves for domestic fuel consumption would not hurt exports, which were worth billions every year to the Australian economy.

Mr Fitzgibbon said a Labour government would also examine a national electricity grid management company in a bid to avoid possible brownouts and power shortages.

"The urgent development of a strong national grid is the most pressing issue for the national electricity market and it is worth considering international experiences where some innovative approaches have been adopted," he said. "In England and Wales a national grid management company is delivering optimal results for both investors and consumers."

Mr Fitzgibbon said there needed to be greater scrutiny of joint marketing arrangements in the domestic gas market and more promotion of competition as a factor when awarding exploration rights.

He said there had to be better interconnection of Australia's north-western gas supply services and cities on the east coast.

Source: Asia Pulse