According to the company’s website media release on September 29, 2022, gas will play a critical role during the energy transition, particularly as coal-fired generation retires. It is in the best interests of Australian customers that Shell QGC ensure they have the right policy settings to encourage investment in developing additional supplies of gas.
The revised Heads of Agreement attempts to strike the right balance by giving the market confidence that there will be gas available from Queensland at a competitive price in the near term.
Shell’s QGC has already offered 130 petajoules of gas to the market for delivery in 2023, and the company is pleased to provide Australian customers with additional reassurance through the revised Heads of Agreement.
Shell QGC is committed to working with the Government to help identify new domestic and international supply solutions that can be delivered at adequate scale into southern locations in the short to medium term.
About Shell Australia
Shell businesses in Australia are part of the Shell Group, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies. Our aim is to meet the energy needs of society, in ways that are economically, socially and environmentally viable, now and in the future.
Shell has operated in Australia for over 120 years. From operating Australia’s first oil refinery, which was central to meeting Australia’s fuel needs, to fuelling the first Qantas commercial flight in the 1920s, to playing a foundation role in building some of Australia’s largest and most innovative natural resource developments - as the energy needs of Australia have changed, so have we. Today, we are a leading natural gas producer and are playing our part in the transition to a low-carbon future by investing in the power sector, renewable energy sources and carbon abatement activities.
Shell Australia’s focus turned to natural gas after the divestment of the Australian refining and fuels businesses in 2014. We continue to invest in and operate two gas production and liquefaction businesses: Shell’s QGC onshore gas in Queensland and the Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility offshore of Western Australia. High quality Shell branded fuels and lubricants are still available right across Australia, through an exclusive brand license arrangement with Viva Energy.
In 2019, Shell Australia also entered the power sector via the acquisition of one of Australia’s leading commercial and industrial retailers and traders, ERM Power, now known as Shell Energy. In renewable power, Shell Australia is building an industrial-scale solar project in Queensland, which is designed to generate around 120 megawatts of solar electricity, and has taken a 49% stake in ESCO Pacific, a developer of utility-scale solar farms.
In 2020, Shell Australia acquired Select Carbon, a leading Australian-based environmental services company that specialises in carbon farming. This is Shell’s first acquisition globally for its Nature-Based Solutions business, which invests in forests, grasslands, wetlands and other natural ecosystems around the world to reduce emissions and capture more CO2 while benefiting biodiversity and local communities.
Shell Australia is also a partner in a number of joint ventures, including the Gorgon LNG project and the North West Shelf project, and holds a 50% interest in Arrow Energy, a joint venture partnership with PetroChina.
SHELL’S QGC BUSINESS
Shell’s QGC business is located in Queensland in Eastern Australia. We are one of Australia’s leading natural gas producers, focused on developing Queensland’s world-class onshore gas reserves.
We produce natural gas to supply the Australian domestic market and for export as LNG via our two-train LNG liquefaction plant on Curtis Island in Queensland. Shell’s QGC business produces natural gas from the Surat Basin of southern Queensland and supplies domestic and international markets.
The Shell-operated QGC venture is located in Queensland, Australia.
QGC is one of Australia's leading natural gas producers, focused on developing Queensland's world-class onshore gas reserves.
We have supplied the domestic market since 2006 and international customers since 2014. Shell is an active participant in the domestic market, supplying gas from our QGC project, and trading through Shell Energy Australia, our gas and power trading business, supplying around 16% of east coast demand in 2019.
QGC produces natural gas from wells drilled into coal seams in the Surat Basin. Our operations include more than over 3,000 production wells, 25 field compression stations, six central processing plants, two water treatment plants and a two-train LNG export facility on Curtis Island.
Shell is the operator and majority interest holder in the QGC venture. Our partners in the LNG plant on Curtis Island are CNOOC (50% equity in Train 1) and Tokyo Gas (2.5% equity in Train 2).
