Australia will not be imposing controls on exports of natural gas during the third quarter of 2026, as industry and experts have assured the government that the most vulnerable east coast will not see any supply shortages between the winter months of July and September.
“Following confirmation from industry and experts that Australia’s east coast market has sufficient gas supplies, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King will not implement gas market export controls,” the government said on Friday.
Early last month, Australia’s government said it intended to consider using emergency powers to protect the domestic natural gas supply in case of a shortfall on its east coast in the third quarter of 2026.
Minister King last month gave notice of her intention to consider using powers under the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism (ADGSM) to protect Australian energy supplies in the event of a possible east coast domestic gas shortfall in the third quarter of 2026.
However, following a month of consultations with industry and experts, Australia has now decided no gas export controls would be necessary.
“Minister King said she had now received assurances from exporters that there will be more than enough gas to meet the demand of Australians,” the government said today.
Australia is also implementing, as of July 1, 2027, the so-called gas reservation scheme that requires gas exporters to supply a proportion of their total production to the Australian market, equivalent to 20% of exports.
“The reservation will build Australia’s energy sovereignty, grow gas reserves and ensure more Australian gas stays in Australia,” Minister King said.
Australia’s decision not to implement gas export controls in the third quarter is good news for the global LNG market, which suddenly found itself in a major shortage after the Iran war crippled the Middle East’s LNG exports, with tight markets now expected to last much longer than previously thought.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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