據油氣新聞6月22日消息稱，每桶70美元以上的油價給受壓迫的澳大利亞油氣行業注入了活力，盡管該行業正面臨著環境抗議者和投資者維權人士的批評。

　　鐵礦石億萬富翁Andrew Forrest站在澳大利亞保護運動等組織的一邊，呼吁禁止石油和天然氣行業的擴張，并關注可再生能源。

　　但負面看法的另一面是一份樂觀的研究報告，稱澳大利亞油氣正為下一波增長做準備。

　　由總部位于新西蘭的投資銀行 Jarden 的澳大利亞分支機構發布的主要發現是，澳大利亞最大的四家油氣公司正準備在未來五年內將他們在新項目上的年度支出從過去五年的每年29億美元增加一倍，達到60億美元。

　　伍德賽德石油公司、桑托斯、石油搜索公司和海灘能源公司的預算增加，與去年油價暴跌導致全行業下滑的預測以及抗議運動要求該行業縮減規模的預測相沖突。

　　Jarden 承認，投資者對化石燃料在能源結構中的作用越來越擔憂，同時也面臨成本上升和監管難度加大的壓力，因此要在這一過程中找到出路是一項挑戰。

　　但該銀行得出的結論是，由于油價回升和需要替換生產的原油，四大主要產油國正在為一段時期的擴張做準備。

　　Jarden 表示，四大石油和天然氣公司的最后一個主要擴張階段是從 2010 年到 2015 年，主要涉及液化天然氣 (LNG) 項目的建設，這些項目將澳大利亞超越卡塔爾，成為全球液化天然氣排名第一的國家。

　　朱佳妮 摘譯自 油氣新聞

　　原文如下：

　　Australian Oil Industry Tipped To Double Investment To $6 Billion A Year

　　Oil selling for more than $70 a barrel has breathed life into the downtrodden Australian oil and gas industry even as it battles criticism from environmental protestors and investor activists.

　　Iron ore billionaire Andrew Forrest sided with organisations such as the Australian Conservation Movement to call for a ban on the expansion of the oil and gas industry and a focus on renewable energy sources.

　　But the flipside of the negative views was an upbeat research report which said Australian oil and gas was preparing for the next wave of growth.

　　Published by the Australian arm of Jarden, a New Zealand-based investment bank, the key finding was that the four biggest oil and gas companies in Australia are preparing to double their annual spend on new projects from the $2.9 billion annually of the last five years to $6 billion over the next five.

　　The expanded budgets of Woodside Petroleum, Santos, Oil Search and Beach Energy conflict with forecasts of an industry-wide decline caused by last year’s collapse in the oil price and demands from the protest movement that the industry be wound back.

　　Jarden acknowledged the challenge of navigating a pathway through rising investor concerns about the role of fossil fuels in the energy mix and pressure from rising costs and greater regulatory complexity.

　　But the bank concluded that the four leading producers were preparing for a period of expansion thanks to the oil-price recovery and the need to replace barrels produced.

　　Jarden said the last major expansion phase of the four leading oil and gas companies ran from 2010 to 2015 and primarily involved the construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects which elevated Australia to the top of the global LNG table, slipping past Qatar.?