PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (Appea) has called for consistent regulatory policies across Australia, after Canada surpassed Australia as the second-most attractive region for upstream petroleum investment.

The Fraser Institute’s ninth yearly Global Petroleum Survey has listed Australia among the highest scorers in the policy perception index, suggesting that obstacles to investment were lower than in all other jurisdictions assessed by the survey. However, the country no longer held the title as the second-most attractive region for upstream petroleum investment.

The US continued to be the most attractive region for upstream investment.

Appea on Thursday pointed out that the report was a timely reminder of the need to maintain a focus on removing barriers to investment in oil and gas, ahead of this week’s Council of Australian Government’s (COAG’s) Energy Council meeting.

The Fraser Institute’s survey confirmed South Australia’s status amongst petroleum industry executives and managers as Australia’s most attractive oil and gas investment destination, ranking twelfth out of 126 jurisdictions surveyed.

The state was singled out in the report for: “Strong political leadership on the fracking debate and support for free market on gas supply versus calls for domestic gas reservation policy.”

Appea CEO Malcolm Roberts said the survey recognised South Australia’s ongoing efforts to attract investment while maintaining high regulatory standards.

“South Australia has improved its global ranking in each of the last four surveys and has achieved the highest possible ranking this year for its fiscal regime,” Roberts said.

“In today’s highly competitive investment environment, South Australia is clearly showing the world that it is open for business.”

Roberts said that while most other states and territories have also improved their rankings this year, it was disappointing to see New South Wales and Victoria go backwards.

“Unnecessary moratoriums and similar restrictions on exploration and development only serve to stifle jobs and economic development and jeopardise energy security.

“Strong leadership from governments and sensible, consistent regulatory oversight is essential if our oil and gas industry is to continue to grow and deliver benefits for all Australians.”

Roberts added that the petroleum industry’s importance to Australia was highlighted by the September quarter national accounts, which showed an 11.4% increase in oil and gas production, contributing strongly to a higher-than-forecast growth rate of 0.9%.

“Regulatory failure is a significant risk to further development of the industry, particularly on the east coast,” he said.

“This is the key issue that governments, through the COAG Energy Council, can address when they meet on Friday.”