RE: Japan14 Sep 2025 13:36
Australia risks failing to capitalise on the unpredictability of US energy exports under President Trump because of uncertainty on the rules for its east coast gas market and the world's toughest emissions limits for LNG, the head of a Tokyo-based energy think-tank has warned.
Tatsuya Terazawa, chairman and chief executive of the Institute of Energy Economics in Japan, said a rebound in demand for electricity in Japan meant gas would remain an important fuel, with Australia "a very, very important supplier" of LNG both for Japan and the broader Asian region.
But that would require stable and predictable policies around energy, which are now lacking, Terazawa suggested at the Financial Review Asia Summit in Sydney. Australia is one of the world's top three exporters of LNG, the fastest-growing fossil fuel market
"We hope that Australia will be a reliable supply of LNG, and that would require stability in the policy, predictability in policy," Terazawa said.
"That's what the US doesn't have, and that has been the asset of Australia, but now it's being questioned."
The comments come as the Albanese government is reviewing three critical regulatory regimes for east coast domestic gas, which could reduce the amount of LNG able to be exported from the east coast. Japan has also been hit by requirements for zero emissions for new gas projects, such as Santos' $6.1 billion Barossa, which is about to come online in the Timor Sea to feed the Darwin LNG plant.
"Australia requires zero emissions on day one - nowhere else in the world there's such a requirement," Terazawa said.
"Hopefully, there can be a balance struck between climate change issues and the stability of LNG."