Are you worried about the gas shortage in Australia? You’re not alone. Headlines scream about impending shortages, and politicians warn of a looming crisis. But here’s the kicker: the “gas shortage” isn’t quite what it seems.
Does Australia have enough gas (really)?
So what is the so-called ‘shortage’ about? One word: exports. Production reports prove we have more than enough gas to be able to cook food or heat our homes until we can replace it with clean energy. The ‘shortage’ exists because the multinational gas companies are selling almost all of the gas they drill in Australia to overseas buyers.1
Instead of keeping that gas for short-term Australian use, these companies are now telling Australians we ‘need to drill for new gas’ during a climate crisis. What a scam!
What is The Great Gas Bait and Switch?
You know those massive new gas proposals popping up across Australia? Like Woodside’s Burrup Hub, the biggest new gas project in the Southern Hemisphere, which is being built next to a coral reef? Here’s a shocker: that gas is not for you. That’s right, these mega-facilities are built for export, not to heat your home or cook your dinner. Woodside is planning to send at least 85% of that gas to overseas customers,2 and whatever small amount they have promised to Australians will stay only in WA.
The gas lobby is using fears of a domestic shortage and artificially soaring energy prices to justify projects that won’t do anything to help households in Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne. Projects like Woodside’s Burrup Hub will supply precisely zero gas for the East Coast and will just make Woodside richer at the expense of our climate and environment. Talk about a bait-and-switch.
Is gas being used for electricity?
Despite the alarming headlines, gas is playing a smaller role in our national electricity grid every year. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) predicts gas use will flatline as it gets replaced by cheaper clean energy like solar and wind.3
Get this: gas use for power generation fell by a whopping 47% between 2014 and 2022.4 By 2030, only 4% of east coast gas production will be needed for electricity.5 So we don’t even need that much gas – our existing gas reserves are more than enough to meet the small domestic demand over the coming decades. There is absolutely no need to drill for new gas to support our electricity grid.
Is gas a polluting fossil fuel like coal?
The easily accessible gas in Australia is gone. What’s left? Gas that is extra dirty, and in important environmental and cultural areas. The reality of ‘more gas’ is drilling next to a coral reef, or seismic blasting our southern ocean for 400 days.
Gas is a fossil fuel that is harmful to our climate – just like coal. It’s primarily methane, which is 85 times more potent at heating our earth than CO2. The gas industry is plagued by methane leaks and under-reported emissions, with recent studies showing actual emissions are often 60% higher than they report.6
Meanwhile offshore drilling can harm our oceans, and fracking can pollute our water supplies. The environmental cost of gas is far higher than the industry wants you to believe.
Does Australian gas “keep the lights on in Tokyo’?
You might have heard the reason we need more gas to be drilled is to “keep the lights on in Tokyo.” Spoiler alert: Japan sells more Australian gas that it uses at home! 7
Why would we risk our environment and climate to ensure the gas keeps flowing to a fossil fuel middleman? Our trading partners aren’t relying on Australian gas for energy security, it is yet more industry spin and is actively delaying the transition to renewable energy.8 We could be supporting the development of clean energy exports to our neighbours, but instead gas companies are keeping them hooked on fossil fuels.
So what is the bottom line?
Don’t fall for the gas industry’s scare tactics. Australia isn’t running out of gas – in fact, gas use is in terminal decline. There is no justification for drilling for new gas when we have more than enough at home.
The real story is about exports, environmental risks, and the urgent need to transition to clean energy. Next time you hear about a “gas shortage,” remember: there is more than enough gas, it is toxic, and demand is only going down.
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1. Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. (2023). ‘Australian Quarterly Energy Update, September 2023’.
2. Peter Milne, WA Today, 2024, March 5, ‘WA’s looming domestic gas shortage: How a good faith’ argument left WA short.’
3. Australian Energy Market Operator. (2024). ‘2024 Gas Statement of Opportunities’
4. Springmount Advisory for Solutions for Climate Australia and the Labor Environment Action Network, 2024, ‘Small and getting smaller The future of gas use for electricity in Australia’
5. Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, 2023, ‘Gas’ Role in the Transition’,
6. Climate Council, 2024, ‘Dangerously overlooked: why we need to talk about methane’
7. Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, 2024, ‘Japan does not need Australian LNG to keep the lights on in Tokyo’,
8. Global Energy Monitor, 2022, Coal-to-gas switching threatens energy,
security, and global climate goals