National COVID-19 Co-ordination Commission boss Nev Power supports Perdaman ammonia plant

A $2 billion liquid ammonia plant at Narrabri, powered by the Santos gas project, tops the proposals Nev Power’s COVID-19 Commission is backing to create a new wave of manufacturing. HAS YOUR BUSINESS BEEN AFFECTED BY COVID-19? TAKE OUR SURVEY. The Commission considered fertilisers to be one of the biggest opportunities, along with petrochemicals and methanol, executive chairman Nev Power told The Daily Telegraph. To get projects going, there needed to be long-term access to affordable power, former Fortescue Metals CEO Mr Power said. He said he was working with federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor on “configuring an energy supply that provides for certainty for these businesses to allow them to invest”. Mr Power has also been in discussions with Western Australian businessman Vikas Rambal, whose company Perdaman Industries is pursuing a $US1.2 billion to $US1.4 billion ($1.9 billion-$2.2 billion) liquid ammonia project off the back of the Santos gas project. Mr Rambal’s plant would create up to 800 jobs during construction and 70 to 80 permanent roles in Narrabri, supplying farmers in a 300km radius. “It’s a huge project,” Mr Rambal, who is also advancing a $4.5 billion fertiliser plant in WA, told The Daily Telegraph. He said Mr Power’s Commission could help by picking up the phone to politicians to remove roadblocks and speed up approvals. Mr Taylor said making more fertiliser was a “cracking opportunity” for Australia and would help achieve the government’s goal of growing agriculture to a $100 billion-a-year industry by 2030. He said he was focused on making more gas available. “I like to think of the other side of COVID-19 as being a gas-fired recovery,” Mr Taylor said. “We want to see the NSW government get on with (the approvals process for the Santos project).” In January, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she wanted a final decision on the proposal by June 30. That now looks unlikely. The Independent Planning Commission is yet to receive a referral from the NSW Department of Planning. The IPC will take 12 weeks to make its ruling. It is unclear if the COVID-19 Commission is now attempting to hurry up the Department of Planning. Meanwhile, Mr Taylor revealed he was in talks with local oil refineries about getting them to expand their storage facilities so Australia could take advantage of cheap international prices. “We’ve got to get the right sites and partners to do it,” he said. Mr Taylor recently authorised the purchase of $94 million of crude, which will be stored in the US. He indicated that would not be the last purchase if prices stay low. Australia has the only agreement in the world to use US spare oil storage. TAKE OUR SURVEY ON YOUR BUSINESS EXPERIENCE