Australian Gas Industry Welcomes Govt Carbon Scheme

SYDNEY (Dow Jones)-- The industry association representing Australia's oil and gas producers Monday welcomed the federal government's move to provide liquefied natural gas, or LNG producers, assistance under its proposed carbon pollution reduction scheme.
Under the plan outlined earlier Monday, firms producing 1,000-1,999 tons of carbon dioxide per A$1 million in revenue, such as LNG producers and alumina and petroleum refiners would be liable for just 40% of emissions.
In the government's July Green Paper, LNG producers received no such assistance.
Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association Chief Executive Belinda Robinson said the LNG industry acknowledges the "positive and responsible steps" taken by Australia's center-left Labor government.
"There is no doubt that the cost to LNG industry as outlined in the White Paper is less than what it would have been under the Green Paper," Robinson said in a statement.
Still, Robinson said that Australians still "have a long way to go" in accepting that Australia's gas reserves "represent a major strategic asset" for supplying the Asia Pacific region with a substantially cleaner source of energy.
-By Ross Kelly, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8235-2957; ross.kelly@dowjones.com