Australia's Big Four banks block Beetaloo gas pipeline funding
ANZ joined CommBank, NAB and Westpac in refusing to fund new gas pipelines. This leaves Beetaloo unable to find bank backing.
ANZ announced this week it will not directly fund new upstream oil and gas projects. It will also not fund new pipelines for them.
The decision makes it the final Big Four bank to block funding for Beetaloo Basin development in the Northern Territory. APA Group is Australia's largest gas pipeline company.
It planned a 1,561 km pipeline to move gas from Beetaloo to south-east Queensland. This was part of a roughly $10 billion project.
With all four major banks ruled out as funding sources, the project faces a critical financing barrier.
- 1,561 km
- Pipeline length
- Roughly $10 billion
- Project cost
- Up to 500 trillion cubic feet
- Gas resource estimate
- Up to 20 per cent of Australia's total
- Potential emissions increase
Why it mattersThe decision makes it far harder for the gas industry to fund new fossil fuel infrastructure. Major financial institutions now see climate risk as incompatible with backing new oil and gas.
AustraliaAustralia's Big Four banks have effectively blocked a major new gas export project that would have shaped the country's energy landscape and emissions profile for decades to come.
