PERTH (miningweekly.com) - The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (Appea) has urged that the new greenhouse gas (GHG) emission guidelines being considered by the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) should not pose a risk to investment, as the public consultation process closes.

The EPA earlier this year invited public comment on its GHG guidelines, after it was forced in March this year to withdraw its initial revised guidelines after industry participants claimed they would jeopardize billions worth of investment, and thousands of jobs.

The initial revised guidelines on GHG emissions included rules that all new projects that emitted more than 100 000 t/y of carbon dioxide, should offset those emissions.

EPA chairperson Tom Hatton on Tuesday said that all submissions for the new GHG guidelines would now be reviewed and work on redrafting the GHG guidance would begin.

“The EPA received more than 6 500 submissions and I thank everybody who took the time over the last 12 weeks to provide feedback on this important and complex process,” Hatton said.

“The EPA intends to release its greenhouse gas assessment guidance early next year and the guidance will make clear the expectations of the EPA for a proponent to avoid, reduce and then offset its greenhouse gas emissions.”

The EPA will provide a draft of its revised GHG guidance to its Stakeholder Reference Group for a further round of feedback in November. This draft guidance will also be published on the EPA website.

Appea CEO Andrew McConville said the effective and efficient management of GHG emissions was an issue the oil and gas industry took very seriously.

“Appea supports national climate change policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions at least cost and facilitates investment decisions consistent with an international price on carbon.

“This means we support the Australian government leading on climate change policy responses, as the signatory to Australia’s Paris Agreement commitments. It also means duplicative and inconsistent requirements should not be imposed through the actions of a single regulatory agency in a jurisdiction to a limited number of large projects.”

McConville said that when the new EPA guidelines were released, they should acknowledge the actions that were underway at a national and a state level, and that direct involvement by the EPA in mitigation policy would be duplicative, inconsistent and impractical.

“The oil and gas industry has invested billions of dollars in the Western Australian economy in recent years, developing projects to supply cleaner energy to both the Western Australian and our Asian trading partners. With billions of dollars in future investment under consideration, clarity on the policy approach in Western Australia is vital,” McConville said.