A letter from the US miner raised hope that the jarrah forest inland from Perth would escape its strip mining for bauxite, but Alcoa is keeping its options open.
Most gas in Western Australia is produced offshore and exported as LNG, with some reserved for domestic use. Production from the onshore Perth Basin is increasing. WA is the most gas-dependent state in Australia.
Australia's most gas-dependent state can be well supplied for decades without drilling near Scott Reef or fracking the Kimberley, according to an exclusive analysis by Boiling Cold.
As Asia scrambles for gas, another Australian gas export plant is out of action, and the WA Government monitors the situation to ensure sufficient fuel for the state.
The troubled $6 billion flagship will be out of action "for a number of weeks," just as Santos' customers are desperate for gas to replace supply from the Middle East.
The shutdown of the Yara Pilbara plant comes as a quarter of global trade in ammonia, used for urea fertiliser and mining explosives, is blocked by war.
Investors beware: after spending more than $40 million in the Canning Basin, the US-owned company's continued pursuit of remote gas appears to be throwing good money after bad.
