Rick Wilkinson
OGJ Correspondent
MELBOURNE, May 26 -- Australia has unveiled new regulatory support and incentives for companies investing in new natural gas pipelines.
Australian Minister for Industry, Tourism, and Resources Ian Macfarlane said the incentives would allow companies proposing to build pipelines to apply to be fully exempted from regulation under the gas access regime for the first 15 years of operation.
They would also allow exemption from price regulations for proposed international transmission pipelines delivering foreign gas to Australia. This is reference to the proposed pipeline to bring gas from the Papua New Guinea highlands to Queensland.
Macfarlane said the new regime would help projects such as the Papua New Guinea pipeline get under way.