Australian government holds off on natural gas export controls; East Coast gas reserves sufficient

Australian Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King stated that following assessments by industry bodies and professional experts, the supply security for the East Coast gas market is sufficient, and the Australian government has decided not to implement gas market export control measures for the time being.

Madeleine King noted that gas exporters have committed to the government to maintain stable and sufficient supply during the third quarter of this year, fully meeting domestic market demand. Based on the current supply and demand fundamentals, there is no need to introduce additional regulatory measures such as export restrictions for the third quarter of 2026 under Australia's Domestic Gas Security Mechanism.

At the same time, she sent a clear policy signal that if there are significant changes in the domestic gas supply and demand landscape or market conditions, the Australian government will act decisively and without hesitation to introduce further regulatory measures to safeguard the baseline of domestic gas security.

According to her introduction, currently all gas storage facilities on Australia's East Coast are near full capacity, and have even reached 100% full storage status. With ample reserves, they provide solid support for the stable energy supply in the region.