2026 Agenda

This masterclass is designed for professionals across the gas industry who need to understand how price movements, supply-demand dynamics, and decarbonisation policies will shape Australia’s energy future. Attendees will gain a comprehensive, data-driven understanding of Australia’s gas market outlook and practical insights to inform strategy, investment, and risk management decisions.

Key learning outcomes:

• Analysing gas price trends and demand shifts across industrial, residential, and power generation sectors
• Evaluating new supply options, LNG regasification projects, and constraints impacting east coast market stability
• Understanding the implications of federal and state policy reforms, including price caps and decarbonisation targets
• Assessing the evolving role of gas, hydrogen, and renewable gases in Australia’s energy transition
• Interpreting international LNG pricing and carbon offset market trends influencing domestic gas economics

08:30     Registration and coffee 

09:00     Considering business and residential gas price escalations, consumption changes (especially gas fired generation) and the impacts on Industrial/manufacturing use of gas – price elasticity effects 

• Understanding the gas market on the east coast of Australia – and its lack of liquidity. 

10:30     Morning tea 

11:00     Predicting the potential impacts of domestic gas /demand balance and forecasts and LNG regasification projects 

• Where will the gas that is needed but not wanted come from? 
• What are the barriers holding up LNG importation and regasification? 

12:30     Lunch

13:30     Analysing the potential roles for gas in Australia through the energy transition and timelines for gas exiting the domestic market (if ever!) 

• Evaluating impacts from policy decisions (state and federal) as reforms are implemented – price caps, reservation policies, legislated decarbonisation targets 
• Key (but underestimated) determinants in forecasting: investment frameworks, timing and financing  
• Are the supply issues dire, or OK? 

15:00     Afternoon tea 

15:30     Accounting for the impact of international LNG prices the European energy crisis  

• Key pricing/market trends within APAC for Carbon Offsets beyond ACCU’s  

17:00     Masterclass concludes 

This masterclass is designed for in-house legal counsels and compliance professionals at gas producers seeking to navigate the growing legal and regulatory risks facing the sector. Attendees will gain practical strategies to counter lawfare, strengthen approvals, and safeguard their organisation’s legal and social licence to operate.

Key learning outcomes:

• Understanding emerging regulatory trends and the evolving concept of lawfare in the Australian gas sector
• Anticipating and mitigating the risks of environmental and climate litigation, both domestic and international
• Strengthening due diligence, project approvals, and stakeholder engagement to reduce legal exposure
• Developing proactive defence strategies for class actions and greenwashing claims
• Coordinating legal, communications, and government relations responses to manage crises and protect reputation

08:30     Registration and coffee

09:00     Overview of trends in gas regulation and challenges for producers

• New regulations and policy interventions introduced over the past three years
• The concept of lawfare
• Major regulatory reforms at the Commonwealth level
• State-Level Developments
• Future Regulatory Trends

Tom Fotheringham, Partner, Johnson Winter Slattery

10:00     Morning tea

10:30     Understanding the legal landscape and lawfare tactics

• Snapshot of environmental litigation in Australia - key players, funding and level of activity
• Key trends to date in environmental litigation in Australia
• An overview of the reforms to the EPBC Act and implications for lawfare
• Environmental litigation globally and what may be next for climate change litigation in Australia
• The International Court of Justice Advisory opinion on Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change – implications for gas projects

Risk mitigation and strengthening legal defences and project approvals

• Due diligence considerations
• Navigating planning and environmental approvals
• Maintaining a social licence to operate – strategies for community consultation and engagement, including with traditional owners

Samantha Daly, Partner, Johnson Winter Slattery

Mark Easton, Partner, Johnson Winter Slattery

12:30     Lunch

13:30     Class Actions

• Strategies for a short and a long game
• Using the economics of funders as a defence tool
• Big data, causation and individual circumstances

Paul Reidy, Partner, Johnson Winter Slattery

Frances Dreyer, Partner, Johnson Winter Slattery

14:30     Afternoon tea

15:00     Big ticket items - greenwashing and cartels

• Examination of latest cases
• Practical guidance for businesses seeking to transition to renewables
• Expert evidence – dirty, clean and privilege
• Cartels – industry agreements

Sar Katdare, Competition/Antitrust Partner, Johnson Winter Slattery

16:30     Stakeholder lobbying, PR and crisis management

Matthew Doman, Vice President, Crestview Strategy

17:30     Concludes

• How will Chevron’s new Australian gas developments impact domestic supply, pricing, and potential future gas reservation policies?
• How does Chevron view the balance between LNG exports and meeting domestic gas obligations in Western Australia and on the east coast — and what mechanisms do you see as most effective to maintain that balance without distorting investment signals?
• Given cost pressures, carbon targets and regulatory uncertainty, what investment conditions or contract structures does Chevron need to sanction further gas development in Australia?
• Looking at much beyond WA projects like Gorgon and Wheatstone, does Chevron plan to revisit eastern Australia?

• Developing new domestic gas projects to secure east coast supply and restore market confidence
• Structuring flexible offtake and contract models to reduce investment risk and provide certainty for producers and buyers
• Managing costs of execution in a lengthy planning process and financing mechanisms to manage this complexity
• Implementing ESG and carbon-neutral strategies to strengthen social licence and attract long-term investment
• Analysing much gas is left in the Otway/Gippsland basin and how much of east coast gas demand it will meet

• How would linking LNG export approvals to domestic supply obligations reshape the commercial strategies of Australia’s three Queensland LNG projects?
• What impact could a tradable credit scheme have on production incentives, third-party gas purchases, and domestic price outcomes?
• How should government balance the need for affordable domestic supply with maintaining Australia’s reputation as a reliable LNG exporter to Asia?
• What risks and opportunities does this policy shift create for future project investment, particularly in developments like Narrabri?

• Importing LNG to overcome looming east coast supply shortfalls and capacity restraints, and increase competition and restore market confidence
• How important is an offtake agreement to underwrite the Port Kembla Energy Terminal?
• Diversifying contracting models to give producers and buyers greater flexibility in managing price and volume risk
• Deploying firming and dual-fuel technologies to maintain reliability while transitioning towards lower-carbon fuels
• Why gas and decarbonisation are unorthodox bedfellows

• Leveraging integrated gas to power projects to deliver firming capacity alongside renewables
• Drawing lessons from WA’s capacity market to attract investment in dispatchable generation
• Overcoming weak investment signals to ensure long term gas-fired generation viability
• Comparing east and west coast market design to strengthen energy security and affordability
• When can the market expect South Erregulla gas resources to come online?
• Reviewing the conclusions of Western Australian’s inquiry into decarbonisation

• Delivering Scarborough and Bass Strait volumes to meet industrial and household demand
• Extending North West Shelf operations to guarantee long-term gas availability
• Committing extra domestic volumes to stabilise prices and strengthen market reliability
• What does Woodside’s new operatorship of the Bass strait mean for gas markets?
• Examining how North West Shelf approval impacts the future of domestic gas and exports in WA
• Restructuring the Gippsland basin JV and exploration activity in the Gippsland basin

• Advancing Surat Phase 2 to boost gas availability for domestic contracts and how east coast gas market reform alter the economics of the project
• Exploring in the Taroom Trough and its impact for the East Coast
• Locking in long-term agreements to provide pricing predictability for major users
• Engaging in regulatory discussions to support favourable investment conditions

• Assessing how gas market reform could reshape domestic supply opportunities
• Understanding implications of proposed EPBC changes for project approvals and timelines
• What will regulatory reform mean for independent producers seeking to expand supply?

• What is delaying/preventing adequate infrastructure to support domestic gas from being built?
• Developing east coast grid and new connections to improve gas availability and reliability for industry
• Securing Indigenous agreements to enable timely project delivery and maintain community support
• Investing in new pipelines (eg Beetaloo) to reduce LNG imports and stabilise domestic gas prices
• If more gas flows south from Queensland (as a result of gas market reform) what is the impact for APA’s pipeline gas plans?

• Managing environmental and regulatory risk to unlock domestic gas supply
• Aligning community acceptance to secure project social licence
• Coordinating seismic, drilling and logistics to optimise project execution

• Connecting new northern basin supply to southern markets to stabilise domestic availability and pricing
• Lowering emissions intensity and development costs through innovation in drilling, electrification and infrastructure sharing
• Building social licence and regulatory confidence to accelerate responsible large-scale production

• Which emerging gas projects are most commercially viable for the domestic market and why?
• What critical infrastructure is required to transport gas from remote basins to domestic industrial and household users?
• How are policy and regulatory settings shaping investment certainty and government support for new domestic gas developments?

• How can the industry address the gap in qualified women entering the gas sector and attract new talent?
• What mentoring and career development strategies have proven effective in retaining women in the sector?
• How can organisations tackle pay gaps, sexism and workplace culture issues that discourage women from staying in the industry?

• Clarifying upcoming regulatory changes to give producers and buyers certainty for long-term contracting and investment decisions
• Aligning market reforms with supply adequacy goals to prevent shortfalls and stabilise domestic pricing
• Streamlining approvals and policy settings to accelerate new gas developments and enhance market liquidity

• Supporting reservation policy with clear rules to enable investment certainty and supply growth
• Streamlining approvals and incentivising exploration to boost domestic security and economic resilience
• Applying reservation rules prospectively to new gas projects preserving investment certainty
• Examining the potential of and progress of the Cooper Basin JV with Santos

• Signalling serving domestic market first to earn social licence and build trust
• Backing reservation rules and regulatory reform to unlock supply and reduce price volatility
• Improving transparency and accountability to align producer incentives with user outcomes

• Transferring domestic gas assets to Woodside to ensure continued reliable supply for Australian customers
• Expanding Longford Gas Plant capacity to enhance processing efficiency and production resilience
• Advancing new project start-ups to sustain long-term energy supply and regional investment

• What approaches can improve demand forecasts to support long-term supply and infrastructure investment?
• In what ways could sharing cost pressures shape competitive and sustainable contract structures?
• Which strategies help align decarbonisation goals to create collaborative pathways to lower emissions?
• How realistic is the target of $9-$10/GJ for domestic gas pricing?

• Highlighting gaps in royalties to recover value from gas exports for public benefit
• Analysing lost revenue from untaxed gas to inform more equitable taxation policies
• Advocating a 25 percent export tax to fund public services and reduce domestic shortages

• What technologies and approaches are most effective for reducing emissions across gas production and distribution?
• How can producers and users collaborate to accelerate the transition to lower-carbon gas solutions?
• Which policy and investment frameworks are needed to support decarbonisation while maintaining reliable supply?

• Securing policy certainty and funding commitments to reduce investor risk
• Leveraging commercial revenue models to build a viable business case
• Integrating capture, transport and storage to lower capital costs and ease financing

• How can high capital and operating costs be managed to remain competitive with international LNG?
• What government support mechanisms effectively share cost burdens and reduce investor risk?
• How can commercial revenue models be leveraged to make CCS financially viable?
• What integration strategies lower capital costs and simplify financing for large-scale projects?

• Demonstrating secure CO₂ storage in depleted reservoirs and saline formations to validate scalable CCUS deployment
• Developing cost-effective monitoring and verification (MMV) technologies to boost regulatory and community confidence
• Translating lessons from Otway’s research into policy, commercial and engineering practices for large-scale carbon storage

• Meeting buyer demand for low carbon LNG to protect market share
• Addressing NGO and investor criticism to reduce reputational risk
• Balancing CCS with broader decarbonisation to maintain credibility

• Assisting Australian manufacturing to decarbonise by displacing coal for gas alongside CCS abatement
• Potential for industrial hubs near large scale CCS to optimise CO₂ transport and storage efficiency
• How the Cooper Basin could be the launch pad for a new import/export industry for Australia

• Diagnosing injection underperformance to restore throughput and reliability
• Adapting reservoir and pressure management to maintain safe storage conditions
• Updating system design and monitoring to anticipate and mitigate failure modes

• How can infrastructure integration across multiple projects reduce costs and accelerate CCS deployment?
• What lessons can we draw from current projects for coordinating transport and storage planning?
• How can early injection and operational experience inform future large-scale CCS networks?
• What strategies best manage technical and operational uncertainty while scaling CCS infrastructure?