Fortune afloat: booming LNG exports are prompting a push for more petroleum exploration. Source: INPEX Australia
Exploration is back on the agenda in Australia
A landmark energy report warns that Australia must go back to drilling
Booming liquefied natural gas exports are making exploration a renewed priority in Australia, despite years of musical chairs in the federal government. This period of chop and change bedevilled the debate over the oil and gas industry's long-term role in energy supply. Just as the sector was in despair following the toppling of prime minister Malcolm Turnbull on the eve of a hard-won long-term agreement over its role in energy supply, two government reports have given the upstream industry hope. In early October, the Resources and Energy Quarterly showed that LNG exports earned Australia nearly A$38bn ($27bn) in 2017-18, up 36%, and are forecast to rocket again to A$48.4bn in 2018-19. If ga
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