THE federal government wants to encourage the “accelerated development of onshore gas resources” and is chipping in $26 million towards that end.
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The government’s $26-million “Gas Acceleration Program” will open to applications early in the new year, to further strengthen the east coast gas market.
Guidelines for the GAP were released on Wednesday, ahead of grant applications opening in January.
“The GAP is a significant component of the Australian Government’s $90-million investment in gas security, reliability and affordability for the Australian people,” said Resources Minister Matt Canavan.
He said the program aimed to deliver new gas supply to domestic users in markets affected by tight supply by fast-tracking new project developments.
“The GAP will offer up to $6 million to gas projects that have substantiated prospects of bringing significant new gas volumes to market by mid-2020,” Mr Canavan said.
“This funding can be used to develop new technologies or techniques to boost well productivity, for new production or exploration near existing infrastructure. It can also be used to build new gas processing, storage and transport facilities, or for other activities that will bring forward new gas supply.
“This program is implementing our long-term goal to increase the domestic gas supply, boost competition, and improve transparency and efficiency of the gas market supply chain,” he said.
“Australian consumers need to be assured that we can access our plentiful gas resources in a responsible way. Bringing more gas to market will reduce upward pressure on gas prices and help create jobs and support investment in regional Australia.”
Applications to the GAP will be open from January 15 to February 13.
For more information, visit www.business.gov.au/gap
