CANBERRA, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has softened and delayed proposed laws that would force energy exporters to reserve 20 percent of gas for the domestic market.
The federal government on Thursday released draft legislation for the domestic gas reservation scheme, under which producers will now be required to reserve up to 20 percent of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the local market rather than the fixed 20 percent previously proposed.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen, Minister for Resources Madeleine King and Tim Ayres, Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science, said in a joint statement that the reservation obligation will now commence from January 2028 instead of July 2027 to align with contracting cycles.
They said that exporters will provide up to 200 additional petajoules (PJ) of gas to the domestic market every year under the policy, enough to avoid an east coast market shortfall of up to 140 PJ forecast by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).
Bowen said that the policy would push down gas prices for households and businesses.
"Gas will be a crucial energy source as we transition to renewables, and cheaper gas can only help people and businesses to make the switch," he said.
Australia is one of the world's largest producers of LNG, exporting 38.7 million tonnes in the first half of 2026, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. ■
