Why insiders say Australian gas got so expensive | The Business | ABC NEWS

By ABC News (Australia)

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Australia's gas industry, a national titan that's one of the country's biggest exporters, has been in the headlines for years but for the wrong reasons. Now, with a federal gas reservation scheme on the horizon, the industry's united front is splintering, revealing deep frustrations with one player - Santos. Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Financial says the tensions stem from the once-in-a-generation investment boom that opened up the country's east coast gas market to exports. GLNG, or Gladstone LNG, is one of three giant gas export plants built on Curtis Island in Queensland last decade. It is operated by Santos and counts South Korea's KOGAS and Malaysia's PETRONAS among its investors. Saul Kavonic says Santos was alone in building its plant without having the gas to fill it and needed to buy gas out of the domestic market just to meet its contracts. Grattan Institute analysis of ACCC data shows GLNG is the only Queensland exporter to have consistently taken more g

Tags: Australia, abc, abc news, news, business news, finance news, economic news, economy, finance, the business, abc news australia, the business abc, AWU, Australian Workers Union, Daniel Mercer, energy reporter, gas, santos, GLNG, gas industry