The Australian Pipeline Industry Association (APIA) has changed its name.
Since its official rebrand on Wednesday 18 March 2015, APIA is now known as the Australian Pipelines and Gas Association (APGA).
APGA will remain the peak body representing Australasia’s pipeline infrastructure. The new name highlights the organisation’s work on gas policy, particularly gas transmission policy, in national debate and discussion.
APGA states that Australia has abundant reserves of natural gas, enough to supply both domestic and international markets.
Natural gas should, therefore, provide excellent outcomes for the nation’s economy and energy security. Gas exports, via LNG, are making a major contribution to the economy with Australia on track to become the world’s largest LNG exporter by 2018.
However, the structural change that the expanding LNG export industry is causing is reverberating through the domestic gas market with significant price increases and many users reporting difficulties in accessing supplies. It appears that the recent downturn in international prices is not being reflected in the Australian market.
Over many years, the Australian Pipeline Industry Association has brought the perspective of the gas transportation industry to the debate and discussion about the availability and accessibility of natural gas to users in the Australian domestic market. As the representative of gas transportation, APIA has been described as having a unique insight into the whole national gas market.
Under the new name of the Australian Pipelines and Gas Association, the association will continue to contribute to gas policy development, highlighting the value of natural gas to the economy.
In the domestic market, natural gas provides a similar amount of energy for Australia as does the electricity sector. Without the energy provided by natural gas, electricity generation from coal would need to increase dramatically. Without natural gas, many manufacturing industries in Australia would close, states APGA.
