Australia's abundance of world-class energy resources and role as a globally significant energy commodity producer has been reaffirmed in Australia's Energy Commodity Resources (AECR) publication.
Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia Keith Pitt said the inaugural AECR 2021 publication, released by Geoscience Australia, provides a national stocktake of our natural gas, coal, and uranium resources.
"Around 85 per cent of our produced energy commodities are exported and as of 2019, Australia was the fourth largest exporter of energy in the world," Minister Pitt said.
"We surpassed Qatar to become the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas and during this period, Australia's energy export earnings contributed over $130 billion to our economy.
"AECR assesses Australia's energy commodity reserves and resources, and highlights our abundant and available geological energy resource base.
"It includes 963 million barrels of oil, 241 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, 411 billion tonnes of coal and 1.2 million tonnes of uranium.
"These abundant and diverse geological resources will maintain Australia's future value to the global energy market, building on the significant economic and social benefits Australia and its people have attained over the last two decades.
"In 2019, our coal and petroleum industries employed 80,000 people, the majority of which are based in regional Australia."
Minister Pitt said the Australian Government wants to ensure that Australians have a reliable and affordable energy supply for generations to come.
"As Australia looks to the future, AECR also provides an overview of how our geology may support hydrogen production and carbon capture and storage technology. This supports the six new carbon capture projects announced earlier this month under the Government's $50 million Carbon Capture, Use and Storage (CCUS) Development Fund, demonstrating the Government 's commitment to supporting the commercial deployment of CCUS and its uptake," he said.
"This snapshot of the nation's energy resources, alongside Geoscience Australia's annual assessment of mineral commodities in Australia's Identified Mineral Resources (AIMR), offers a complete picture of Australia's energy and mineral resources for industry and policy makers.
"AECR is well timed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic as it captures data from 2018 to 2019, providing a baseline to measure the impact of COVID-19 on the industry and monitor its recovery.
"Updated annually, this in-depth look at Australia's recoverable energy resources will provide essential data to ensure the nation remains at the forefront of reliable energy exploration, production, supply and trade into the future."
The 2021 edition of AECR provides the foundation for identifying trends and long-term indicators of the life of our energy resource base for the future.
Minister Pitt announced the release of AECR at the annual Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association conference and it is available online at https://www.ga.gov.au.
