News Archive

• Development of a national energy grid

  11/03/2010

  Infrastructure Australia has released ACIL Tasman's report on the development of a National Energy Grid. The report examined …more »
  Infrastructure Australia has released ACIL Tasman's report on the development of a National Energy Grid. The report examined the ability of existing energy networks to deal with the implications of the government's policies on the expanded renewable energy target (RET) and the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS). The report drew on the results of consultations with energy network service providers, regulators, government and industry stakeholders. It found that development of gas and electricity grids will require new investment to meet not only growing demands, but also challenges driven by climate change policies, including the growing share of renewable energy in the market. ACIL Tasman supported the broad consensus among stakeholders that the current and planned regulatory arrangements should help to ensure that energy transmission infrastructure will continue to be built in a timely manner. It said that any consideration by government of whether to invest in transmission infrastructure on the basis of the potential broader economic benefits should be informed and supported by the findings of rigorous economic modelling. For more details please contact John Söderbaum on 02 6103 8204.
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• Contribution of Bushmaster and Hawkei armoured vehicles

  21/12/2009

  ACIL Tasman conducted the first detailed assessment of the economic contribution of Project Bushranger to Bendigo, Victoria a…more »
  ACIL Tasman conducted the first detailed assessment of the economic contribution of Project Bushranger to Bendigo, Victoria and Australia, taking both direct and indirect benefits into account, for Thales Australia. ACIL Tasman's computable general equilibrium model, Tasman Global, was used to estimate additional jobs, gross state product, gross domestic product and gross national product attributable to the projects. The report can be found at http://www.thalesprotectedmobility.com.au/tpm/
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• PNG LNG project presentation at LNG conference

  19/12/2009

  Head of ACIL Tasman's gas practice Paul Balfe addressed the inaugural LNG Outlook Australasia conference in Perth on 10 Decem…more »
  Head of ACIL Tasman's gas practice Paul Balfe addressed the inaugural LNG Outlook Australasia conference in Perth on 10 December 2009, speaking on the topic of "The PNG LNG Project and its role in the rapid expansion of the PNG economy". Paul also joined panellists Alastair Sharpe-Paul (Enesar Consulting) and Dr Bruce McConaghy (Petromin) in leading a forum session on "LNG in PNG: Long-term viability, financing and development". The PNG LNG project has the potential to transform the economy of Papua New Guinea, boosting GDP and export earnings, providing a major increase in government revenue, royalty payments to landowners, creating employment opportunities during construction and operation, and providing a catalyst to further gas-based industry development. Paul's presentation focussed on the direct and indirect economic impacts of the project, and on the need for responsible government expenditure policies and strong governance in order to ensure that the large economic gains from the project translate into equivalent socioeconomic development for the nation as a whole. Please contact Paul Balfe in ACIL Tasman's Brisbane office for a copy of the presentation.
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• Economic appraisals of major hospital developments

  18/12/2009

  ACIL Tasman has been engaged by NSW Health Infrastructure since late 2008 to assist in the economic appraisal of major capita…more »
  ACIL Tasman has been engaged by NSW Health Infrastructure since late 2008 to assist in the economic appraisal of major capital projects in accordance with NSW Treasury Guidelines and NSW Health’s Interim Guidelines for Economic Appraisal of Capital Projects. Economic appraisal is a core component of the Business Case development in accordance with NSW Treasury’s requirements. A number of economic appraisals for major hospital development have been conducted with particular focus on option development and valuation of net health benefits.
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• Perth airport master plan approved

  18/12/2009

  Perth Airport received approval of its 2009- 2020 Master Plan in November 2009, by the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport…more »
  Perth Airport received approval of its 2009- 2020 Master Plan in November 2009, by the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Anthony Albanese. ACIL Tasman assisted Westralia Airports Corporation, operator of Perth Airport, with preparation of the Master Plan by developing an assessment of the economic, social and strategic impacts of the airport, its development and operation currently and through to 2020. The Master Plan can be downloaded at http://www.perthairport.com/Default.aspx?MenuID=344
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• WA intrastate aviation

  17/12/2009

  ACIL Tasman reviewed intrastate aviation policies for the WA Department of Transport. It analysed traffic levels; interviewe…more »
  ACIL Tasman reviewed intrastate aviation policies for the WA Department of Transport. It analysed traffic levels; interviewed airlines, mining companies, shires and other stakeholders; assessed the particular needs of fly-in-fly-out services; and considered appropriate regulatory and competition policies for busier and less busy routes. For more information please contact David Greig in our Melbourne office.
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• Gorgon construction commences

  17/12/2009

  Construction of the $43 billion Gorgon natural gas project commenced in December 2009. Project operator, Chevron Australia an…more »
  Construction of the $43 billion Gorgon natural gas project commenced in December 2009. Project operator, Chevron Australia and its joint venture participants, Exxon Mobil and Shell sanctioned the project in September. ACIL Tasman has forecast that the project will create more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs and result in more than $33 billion being spent on Australian goods and services. ACIL Tasman has undertaken economic analysis around many aspects of the project since 2002. The Gorgon economic impact analysis is one of several impact assessments that ACIL Tasman conducted for the rapidly growing number of LNG projects in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland and PNG. For more information on the Gorgon project, see http://www.chevronaustralia.com/ourbusinesses/gorgon.aspx
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• North West Shelf economic contribution assessed

  17/12/2009

  A report by ACIL Tasman has found the Woodside-operated North West Shelf Venture facilities have contributed $70 billion to A…more »
  A report by ACIL Tasman has found the Woodside-operated North West Shelf Venture facilities have contributed $70 billion to Australia’s gross domestic product since liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports began in 1989. The report – Nation Builder: How the North West Shelf Project has driven economic transformation in Australia – was commissioned this year to mark the 25th anniversary of domestic gas production in Western Australia and 20 years of LNG exports. It was launched in October 2009 by the Federal Minister for Resources and Energy the Hon. Martin Ferguson AM MP at a breakfast at Parliament House in Canberra attended by senior Australian Government ministers, policy makers and industry leaders. For a copy of ACIL Tasman's North West Shelf report, go to http://www.woodside.com.au/Our+Business/Production/Australia/North+West+Shelf/
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• Potential transport fuels

  16/12/2009

  ACIL Tasman has undertaken a study of current and potential transport fuels for the Victorian Government Department of Transp…more »
  ACIL Tasman has undertaken a study of current and potential transport fuels for the Victorian Government Department of Transport and Department of Primary Industries. The study considered fuels such as petrol, diesel, LPG, CNG, synthetic fossil fuels, ethanol, biodiesel, biogas, hydrogen and electricity, and examined issues such as production technologies, supply constraints, market factors, environmental performance, barriers to increased uptake and implications for fuels security. The study report can be downloaded from the Department of Primary Industries' website at: http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/DPI/dpinenergy.nsf/LinkView/9B418A5D0F28678BCA25767F007F41C38B79A8BBE5ECDCE3CA25762E001BE620
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• Trade policy case study - New Zealand

  15/12/2009

  David Greig, an Executive Director at ACIL Tasman, made a presentation to an APEC training course on policy reform options …more »
  David Greig, an Executive Director at ACIL Tasman, made a presentation to an APEC training course on policy reform options to promote market acess in an era of falling demand, rising protectionism and economic uncertainty. The presentation covered New Zealand's policy of unilaterally reducing its import barriers in the 1980s - 90, without requiring parallel reductions in other countries' barriers - the forces and analysis that led to it, the arguments against waiting for others to liberalise, and the results. The course was run by the Australian APEC Study Centre at RMIT, Melbourne. Officials attending came from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea and the APEC Secretariat.
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• Opportunities in Indonesia-Australia trade, investment and economic cooperation

  11/12/2009

  ACIL Tasman’s Director WA & NT, Ian Satchwell, addressed the Indonesia-Australia Business Conference held in Jogjakarta in No…more »
  ACIL Tasman’s Director WA & NT, Ian Satchwell, addressed the Indonesia-Australia Business Conference held in Jogjakarta in November. The topic of his presentation was the future of trade and foreign investment between the two countries. Australia and Indonesia are shortly expected to commence negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement to cover trade in goods and services, foreign investment and economic cooperation. Please contact Ian Satchwell in ACIL Tasman's Perth office for a copy of the presentation.
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• PNG LNG project reaches final investment decision

  08/12/2009

  On Tuesday 8 December a joint venture comprising ExxonMobil (operator), Oil Search, Santos, IPBC (PNG Government), Nippon Oil…more »
  On Tuesday 8 December a joint venture comprising ExxonMobil (operator), Oil Search, Santos, IPBC (PNG Government), Nippon Oil, Mineral Resources Development Company and Petromin PNG Holdings Limited agreed to proceed with the development of the Papua New Guinea (PNG) liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, pending completion of sales and purchase agreements with LNG buyers and finalisation of financing arrangements with lenders. Significant project construction activity is now scheduled to commence in 2010. ACIL Tasman congratulates the co-venturers on the achievement of this critical milestone. We are proud to have been involved as an adviser to this transformational project, in particular as authors of the Project Economic Impact Study.
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• Value from raising pipeline operating pressures

  01/12/2009

  In October 2009 ACIL Tasman Executive Director Paul Balfe presented a paper on “The Untapped Value of Maximum Allowable Opera…more »
  In October 2009 ACIL Tasman Executive Director Paul Balfe presented a paper on “The Untapped Value of Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP)” to the Australian Pipeline Industry Association (APIA) Annual Convention in Cairns. Co-authored with Richard Robinson (General Manager Operations – PNG, Oil Search Limited), the paper showed that the value of latent capacity that could be tapped by MAOP upgrade of existing Australian gas transmission pipelines is at least $500 million and could be in excess of $1 billion. Please contact ACIL Tasman for a copy of Paul's paper.
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