AGL broods on Crib Point LNG rebuff

The shock news of the decision by Mr Wynne came as AGL chief executive Brett Redman was briefing investors on its plans to split the electricity and gas supplier in two and follows a string of major announcements over the past few weeks on battery investments, a new deal on power supply for the Portland aluminium smelter, and other moves.

“So six big announcements, we were expecting a seventh,” Mr Redman told investors, referring to the planning decision on Crib Point.

“It’s quite a complex decision, we were given a copy late last night. The team is still pulling it apart to understand it; I am not in a position therefore to talk to it directly today beyond acknowledging the decision of the minister and the detail that has come out that we need to consider properly.”

But Mr Redman went on to emphasise AGL’s “rich and complex gas portfolio and trading position, with many sources of supply”, despite AGL having consistently argued an LNG import terminal in Victoria was vital for the company to secure additional source of gas for its customers.

“I note that in this financial year alone in the last nine months we have signed something like 150 petajoules of new supply arrangements,” he said.

“So while I had been hoping that we would make a seventh big announcement today, clearly we’ll be satisfied with six for the moment and the seventh we still need to understand properly.”

AGL has been working on the proposed Crib Point import jetty since at least 2017 when it was put on the table under former chief executive Andy Vesey after the company decided not to pursue its own controversial coal seam gas development plans in NSW.

That decision to exit upstream gas production left it dependent on purchasing gas from other producers in an increasingly constrained east coast market.