Chevron notes cooperation of Australian government

A Chevron Corp. executive vice-president for upstream and gas, told a meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation members that Asian governments need to promote policies to expand and diversity energy resources, especially natural gas.

Speaking at the APEC meeting in Singapore on Nov. 12, Kirkland cited Australia as a good example.

In September, Chevron and partners agreed to proceed with the $40 billion Gorgon LNG and upstream project off Australia.

“Gorgon will supply natural gas into the Asia-Pacific region as well as Australia domestically—with half the carbon footprint of coal,” Kirkland said. “Gas from Gorgon will significantly help expand and diversity the Asia-Pacific region’s energy supplies.”

Australia also worked with Chevron to support a carbon capture and sequestration component of Gorgon, Kirkland noted.

“Australia got it right with natural gas, a resource whose time has come,” he said.

He credits Australia's state and federal government officials with aggressively fostering policies and a political environment providing stable legal frameworks, predictable fiscal and tax regimes, and contact sanctity.

Could Australia become a green superpower?

A climate change scientist suggests Australia could take the lead among developed countries in promoting renewable energy.

Barry Brook recently wrote an online column saying Australia has plenty of wind, geothermal, and solar resources to move away from fossil fuels. He is director of the Research Institute for Climate Change and Sustainability at the University of Adelaide.

He compares Australia's opportunity to develop its solar resources to the economic transformation the world experienced with widespread production and exportation of Middle Eastern oil.

“When the Seven Sisters oil companies exploited that resource the global energy system changed forever,” Brook recently wrote. “Today, Australia has all the makings of a global green energy superpower.”

Compared with debate about peak oil and peak coal, Brook believes scarcity is not a problem for renewable energy sources. He notes the costs for renewable energy are dropping because of rapid technological development.

Carbon trading could provide tens of billions of dollars to invest in cleaner energy sources, Brook advocates. Whether the Australian government will promote this green superpower idea remains to be seen. It also remains to be seen whether any developed country actually can move its economy away from fossil fuels any time soon.

Brook’s full comments can be found in a column published by News Ltd. Australia.
(http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24430472-5007146,00.html).