VZCZCXRO3256
OO RUEHPT
DE RUEHBY #1092/01 3450537
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 110537Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY CANBERRA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2421
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 9671
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 5577
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0017
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 9975
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 3762
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0180
RUEHBN/AMCONSUL MELBOURNE 6831
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH 5095
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY 5100
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CANBERRA 001092 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR S/CIEA GOLDWYN, EEB/ENR MONOSSON 
DOE FOR MARKOWSKY, SKEER 
COMMERCE FOR 3132/USFCS/OIO/EAP/JRULAND, 
4538/MAC/EAP/OPB/GPAINE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/12/2019 
TAGS: ENRG EPET ECON AS
SUBJECT: AUSTRALIA UPS PRESSURE ON BIG LNG PROJECT PARTNERS 
 
REF: A. CANBERRA 630 
     ¶B. PERTH 40 
     ¶C. PERTH 54 
 
Classified By: POL/ECON COUNSELOR EDGARD KAGAN, REASONS 1.4(B)(D). 
 
¶1.    (SBU) Summary: The government is fulfilling its pledge 
to strengthen "use it or lose it" policies to encourage 
faster development of LNG resources.  Resources and Energy 
Minister Martin Ferguson announced December 4 that Browse 
Basin LNG project joint venture (JV) partners Woodside, BHP, 
BP, Chevron and Shell must develop a plan to produce LNG 
within 120 days, as a condition for extending for three years 
their retention leases on gas fields in the project. Ferguson 
also canceled the retention lease on a small field that is 
part of the Pluto gas project.  More decisions shortening or 
canceling retention leases are expected in the near future, 
some of which may impact U.S. companies, particularly Chevron 
and ExxonMobil.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.    (SBU) Retention leases for LNG fields have been granted 
since the 1980s to allow companies to hold rights to exploit 
a resource over a long period.  Previous policy had been to 
routinely renew retention leases for 5 years.  Since 1985, 
only one of 58 retention leases has ever been overturned by 
the government.  The government announced this year that it 
was reviewing policy on these leases and released a 
discussion paper in June (ref A). 
 
GOVERNMENT CONDITIONS ON LEASES 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3.    (SBU) Minister Ferguson announced on December 2 that he 
was placing a 120-day deadline on Browse JV partners to come 
up with a "development theme" as a condition of extending 
seven retention leases for a period of three years.  Ferguson 
also turned down the renewal of a retention lease on the 
Dixon field, part of the Northwest Shelf JV between Woodside, 
BHP, Chevron, BP, Japan Australia LNG, and Shell.  Ferguson 
gave the Northwest shelf partners one year to apply for a 
production permit at the field. 
 
¶4.    (SBU) Both decisions put pressure on JV partners to 
develop plans for bringing LNG from these projects into the 
market quickly.  The Browse project particularly has been 
slow to develop, largely because of differences over whether 
to use existing gas infrastructure or pay to develop a new 
processing facility at James Price Point (ref B), a plan 
favored by Woodside.  Driving the government's decision is 
concern that major international oil companies are using 
Australia's relatively lenient reservation lease policy to 
sit on reserves rather than bring them into the market.  The 
benefits of constructing large projects for the local economy 
and Western Australian government are also substantial. 
 
UNPRECEDENTED INTERVENTION? 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5.    (C/NF) Australian Petroleum Producers and Explorers 
Association (APPEA) Director for Exploration and Access Ranga 
Parimala told econoff on December 7 that the decision was an 
"unprecedented interference" by the government in a project, 
intended to force Browse partners to choose Woodside's 
preferred development pathway.  In Parimala's view, the 
Qpreferred development pathway.  In Parimala's view, the 
Browse JV partners would have no chance to develop a credible 
alternative in 120 days and would either accept the James 
Price Point plan or seek to walk away from the JV project. 
 
¶6.    (C/NF) Ferguson's Energy Advisor, Tracy Winters, said 
December 9 that the government would not allow companies to 
build portfolio investments by sitting on Australian 
resources over a long term.  Winters suggested it would be a 
good thing if some of the most reluctant partners pulled out 
of contentious and slow-developing deals, as "there are 
plenty of investors ready to fill in their places."  More 
 
CANBERRA 00001092  002 OF 002 
 
 
decisions like this are coming, Winters said, including a 
review of Chevron's large Wheatstone project retention leases 
(ref C).  According to Winters, timelines and conditions like 
those in the Browse decision would be a model for future 
decisions.  A formal policy statement was being drafted, but 
was delayed within the Department of Resources, Energy and 
Tourism. 
 
WOODSIDE A WINNER 
----------------- 
 
¶7.    (C/NF) Chevron's External Affairs Manager for 
Wheatstone, Mike Edmondson, told CG Perth that the decisions 
reflected Ferguson's long-standing views on "use it or lose 
it" provisions and Woodside's lobbying to put pressure on its 
partners.  He said the decisions are unprecedented and 
concerning.  Overly prescriptive rulings on retention leases 
would increase the sovereign risk of investing in Australia. 
Companies like Chevron are already worried about labor and 
equipment delays in the heated Western Australia LNG market, 
which could also run up against government deadlines. 
Winters said companies with credible reasons for delay could 
work with Ferguson to obtain more time. 
 
¶8.    (C/NF) BHP Billiton Vice President for Government 
Relations Bernie Delaney previously told us that his firm is 
strongly opposed to the changes in retention leases, which 
are likely to push companies such as Chevron and BHP to use 
existing Woodside infrastructure in the Northwest Shelf, and 
to develop the new James Price Point complex.  Delaney said 
that BHP and several other partners in the Northwest Shelf 
venture (which is operated by Woodside) are very frustrated 
with Woodside's operating style and would much prefer to 
build their own processing facilities.  This leaves Woodside 
sitting on very expensive processing assets without a long 
term supply of gas.  Delaney believes that the Government 
policy is driven in part by a desire to minimize the number 
of complicated environmental approvals that would slow 
development in the Northwest.  He also noted that the 
retention leases for the Browse project contain caveats that 
give the partners greater flexibility, such as requiring that 
they be in a position to make a final investment decision 
within three years rather than demanding such a decision in 
120 days. 
 
¶9.    (SBU) Comment:  The clear winner in the initial set of 
decisions by Ferguson is Woodside, whose reluctant JV 
partners in two projects will likely be forced to accept 
Woodside's two preferred development options.  More decisions 
are expected early in 2010, but the government has shown that 
the previous lengthy retention policy is no longer an option. 
 End comment. 
 
BLEICH