Tamboran Resources Limited (ASX: TBN) Managing Director and CEO, Joel Riddle, said:
“The Australian Green’s leader, Adam Bandt, is once again demonstrating what a willfully irresponsible and misleading political populist he really is. In the absence of offering any real solutions to Australia’s energy crisis or emissions reductions targets, it seems the Bandt brigade would rather see Australia pushed back into the dark ages, turning off the lights and closing our critical industries.
“Mr Bandt has once again harped on about the delegitimised “statistic” of the Beetaloo Sub-basin’s shale gas commercialisation adding 13% to Australia’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This figure has neither basis in fact nor a credible source.
“The claim seemingly has its roots in a 2019 study by a Griffith University professor, commissioned by anti- fracking group Lock the Gate.
“The study claimed the Beetaloo Basin would produce 11 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas annum. This 11 TCF per annum figure is close to double Australia’s current gas output. In 2020, Australia’s national gas production was around 6 TCF. The origin of the 13% emissions figure relies on highly inflated upstream production assumptions, produced by The Australia Institute, well known for its opposition to the Australian gas industry. Neither the report nor the methodology behind the figure have ever been made publicly available.
“Adam Bandt waves around the 13% in an intellectually dishonest manner ignoring the fact that development of the Beetaloo Sub-basin’s low-CO2 natural shale gas, and opportunity for displacing large coal-fired power operations, could be the single largest carbon reduction project in Australia. This can be achieved while maintaining affordable gas and electricity to Australian households and businesses.
“While Mr. Bandt can throw off one-liners and delegitimised “statistic” about how natural gas is bad for the world and no new natural gas developments should be allowed in order to meet the Paris Agreement’s 2 degrees scenario, the real statistic suggest otherwise. In the US, natural gas consumption has increased
40 per cent since 2005, and total emissions have decreased by approximately 24 per cent. This is something I wrote passionately about in my article in The Australian.
“Tamboran is committed to sustainability developing the Beetaloo Basin with a target of Net Zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions from first production. This is an industry leading decarbonisation target.
“In fact, Tamboran is committing to Net Zero GHG emissions from its own operations 10 years earlier than the Greens’ proposal of Net Zero by 2035.
“If Adam Bandt truly supports decarbonisation and reduced global GHG emissions, he should support companies with Net Zero targets and be promoting the development of lower CO2 natural gas. We look forward to working with those in politics who are actually focused on decarbonisation, meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and maintaining the high quality of life we enjoy and deserve here in Australia.
“Being accused of being a “gas grifter” by Adam Bandt is not something that concerns me; it comes from someone who regularly grifts the facts on Australian environment policy and misleads the voters whom he claims to represent.”