{
  "id": 6544774,
  "title": "Australia softens gas reserve rule for exporters",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/australia-softens-gas-reserve-rule-for-exporters-6544774",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-10T04:27:59.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2026/09/10/australia-softens-gas-reserve-rule-for-lng-exporters"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Australia has softened a proposed rule that would have forced energy exporters to set aside a fixed 20% of natural gas for domestic use, according to a Reuters report. Instead, the government will require exporters to reserve up to 20% of their production, as determined by the country's energy regulator, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER). Minister Chris Bowen stated that exporters could provide up to 200 additional petajoules of gas per year, which is more than enough to prevent the forecasted shortages of up to 140 petajoules. The aim is to ensure gas prices remain affordable and the domestic market is modestly oversupplied, reducing the risk of price spikes for domestic customers and promoting long-term contracts. The new policy, which will start six months later to align with the industry's contract cycles, will exempt Western Australia due to its separate gas supply and the Northern Territory, where 20% of gas supply would be excessive for its modest demand. The changes come after the Labor government initially proposed a hard 20% gas reservation scheme for the east coast market in May. Three LNG export projects operated by Origin Energy, Shell, and Santos would be most affected, though existing contracts would remain unaffected. The Australian Energy Producers welcomed the changes but expressed concerns about potential price drops and reduced investment in new gas supply.",
  "summary": "The proposed policy will ensure gas is more affordable and the domestic market is always modestly oversupplied, says the energy minister.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Australia softens gas reserve rule for exporters",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/australia-softens-gas-reserve-rule-for-exporters",
        "published": "2026-09-10T04:27:59.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}