Australian gas is being shipped and sold to wholesale customers in Japan for 40% less than it is sold to Australian customers, despite the extra costs of liquefying and shipping the gas there. The commitment to exporting Australian gas has left fewer companies selling gas to the Australian market, meaning both retail and wholesale gas prices have risen sharply, pushing up local electricity prices up too. Since May, the wholesale price of gas on the east coast of Australia overtook the price of gas in Japan. “Bearing in mind the high costs of transport and liquefaction, it makes no sense that Australian gas should be cheaper in Japan, one of the highest-cost markets in the world. “We need more gas supply and more gas supplies in Australia, and gas is an important part of the energy mix,” Frydenberg told ABC’s Lateline.

Source: The Guardian August 16, 2016 04:58 UTC