Former oil and gas industry leaders, including senior executives from BP and Shell, are warning the Albanese government that Australians risk ongoing price shocks and higher costs if it prioritises fossil fuel development in response to the global energy crisis.
Sixteen ex-executives and professionals – who had worked for companies including Woodside, Inpex, ExxonMobil and Esso – have urged the government to reject calls for fast-tracked gas and coal extraction, arguing it would do nothing to improve the nation’s liquid fuel security.
They said Australia’s limited potential oil reserves – such as the Taroom trough, championed by the Queensland LNP government – would probably offer less than a year of supply even if fully exploited.
“[They] are not a real solution within any realistic timeframe,” the ex-fossil fuel leaders said in a joint statement. “The speculative resources spruiked by some would take a decade or more to develop, and provide only a fraction of our energy needs temporarily.”
Signatories to the statement included former BP Australasia president
Greg Bourne, ex-BP vice-president for global projects Russell Smith, and Bernard Wheelahan, a former director of Shell Australia, president of Shell Venezuela and chair of lobby group the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (now known as Australian Energy Producers).
They said Australia should back policies that “accelerate renewable energy deployment, modernise the grid and support large-scale electrification” to minimise reliance on oil. “Every electric vehicle on the road, electric vehicle in a mine and battery replacing a diesel generator frees up diesel fuel for the rest – permanently,” they said.
Their intervention comes as the federal government considers expanding support to ensure fuel supplies in the upcoming federal budget and the federal Coalition and the gas lobby call for faster approvals for fossil fuel projects.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, indicated on Wednesday he would not undermine existing gas export contracts by introducing a 25% gas export tax, saying he was focused on maintaining relationships with Asian countries that buy Australian gas and supply liquid fossil fuels. He dismissed a campaign for a gas tax that polls suggest has strong community support as dishonest and populist.
The ex-gas and oil leaders said expanding drilling and quickly approving new fossil fuel projects in response to the fuel crisis caused by the Iran war “may appear, on the surface, easy options” but risked locking Australia into outdated infrastructure and exposing households to “continuing price shocks”.
They said some gas would still be required, including to “firm” renewable energy generation, but Australia already had enough to meet future demand. “Fossil fuel lobbying has slowed the transition from petrostate to electrostate for decades at great cost to Australians. It must not be allowed to happen again.”
Bourne, now a director with the Climate Council, said the signatories to the statement had experience across oil and gas businesses, including management, drilling, geology and finance.
He said they had largely worked with oil and gas companies when those businesses were planning to shift from fossil fuels to broader energy interests, including clean investments, as they “began to see climate change was a significant and strategic issue that needed to be managed”. Those plans had since been dropped in many cases, he said.
The statement was echoed on Thursday in an unrelated speech by the chair of the federal government agency the Climate Change Authority, Matt Kean. He told a Committee for Economic Development of Australia event in Melbourne that calls for more drilling for fossil fuels during an oil crisis defied logic.
“That’s like fixing a gambling debt by going back down the casino. It makes no sense,” he said.