*
ACCC sees sufficient gas supply for east coast market in
2023
*
Regulator expects 33 PJ of uncontracted gas in Q3
*
18 PJ of surplus gas forecast in Q4 - regulator
*
Government to not activate gas security mechanism for
Sept. qtr
(Updates with Australia government comments)
By Sameer Manekar
April 3 (Reuters) - The Australian competition regulator
said on Monday the country's east coast gas market could have
sufficient supply to meet its demand forecast in 2023 if LNG
producers committed supply of at least an additional 3
petajoules (PJ) of gas to the domestic market.
An interim March report released by the Australian
Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) stated supply-demand
outlook had improved by 27 PJ since its forecast in January due
to rise in production estimates and drop in uncontracted gas.
The improved outlook prompted the Australian government to
not to activate its domestic gas security supply mechanism for
July to September quarter, it said in a statement.
The ACCC data was "one of the key inputs to not commence the notification period for the newly reformed Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism (ADGSM) for the upcoming quarter," Minister for Resources Madeleine King's office said in a separate statement. East coast LNG producers are expected to have uncontracted gas in every quarter in 2023, which could be used to prevent any shortfalls, the regulator said in its report. The ACCC expects LNG producers to have excess uncontracted gas in all quarters of 2023 - with 33 PJ of uncontracted gas expected in the third quarter which could be sold domestically, internationally as LNG spot cargoes, or stored, it added. In the March report, the regulator's forecasts showed the domestic market would need at least an additional 11 PJ of gas over currently contracted levels to ensure sufficient supply to meet demand in the third quarter of 2023. "If gas supply is brought forward (through gas swaps), or if LNG producers commit further gas to the domestic market, then there should be sufficient supply to fulfill demand in the third quarter of 2023," the ACCC said in a statement. However, it sees an 18 PJ of surplus gas available in the market in the fourth quarter of 2023. (Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman, Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
