AGL Energy chief executive Andy Vesey said building community support for the facility would be very important. Credit:Peter Rae AGL first flagged the project last year, when the idea of importing LNG seemed irrational for a country that is set to become the world's top exporter of liquefied national gasby 2019. It hopes to complete construction by 2022. The company sees LNG as crucial to boosting gas supply in the country's east, where prices are soaring and gas-fired power is needed to back up wind and solar power as ageing coal-fired plants shut. AGL's wholesale markets executive general manager, Richard Wrightson, said that if the Crib Point jetty existed today, AGL would be able to deliver gas to Victoria for $8 to $10 a gigajoule, well below current wholesale prices in Australia's southeast. "What is really critical about this project is it will get to the point where you will see Australia's prices capped at the international gas price," Mr Wrightson told investors.

AGL sees LNG as crucial to boosting gas supply in Australia's east. Credit:Bloomberg "We won't have the situation we see currently, where Australian gas prices have gone well beyond prices that we see in Asia. "This project will enable access to the world market for gas, injecting some much-needed competition into the Australian market and help ease the tight gas supply." Crib Point as it is now. Credit:AGL Environment Victoria acting chief executive Nick Aberle said the proposed project needed to ensure that Crib Point's internationally recognised wetlands were protected.

"We'd want to make sure that any proposal is not going to damage that ecosystem," he said He believed questions remained unanswered about how the project would work, citing concerns about environmental risks such as fuel spills and oil leaks. "How much more shipping traffic is this going to mean?". Mr Aberle said the best way for households and businesses to cut back on gas bills was to reduce their usage by adopting efficiency measures. "We'd prefer to see more emphasis on reducing demand rather than boosting supply."

Westernport and Peninsula Protection Council secretary Karri Giles said she did not support an increase in shipping but the proposal had not raised any major environmental concerns so far. She said the Westernport channel up to Crib Point was deep enough to accommodate ships with a depth of 12 metres. AGL has already been talking to suppliers around the world. "We have been very active in overseas markets, talking to a plethora of people who are very, very keen to bring [LNG] to Australia," Mr Wrightson said, speaking to investors during an earnings briefing. Producers in Western Australia and the Northern Territory are also interested, he said.

Spot LNG prices are expected to remain weak due to a supply glut stoked by new export plants in Australia and the United States. The state government said it was working with AGL to "avoid unnecessary delays" for the project, which could help keep gas prices down and would create 40 permanent jobs and more during construction. Loading "Affordable energy is critical to our economic prosperity and society," Premier Daniel Andrews said. "That's why we welcome AGL's Crib Point project – to help secure the reliability of our gas supply, drive down prices and create local jobs." With Reuters