The Industry Minister has been spruiking links between the Australian and United States’ energy sectors.

Australian Minister for Industry and Science, Ian Macfarlane, has told an international conference that both countries are working on better trade and investment links.

The conference, IHS CERA Week, is put on for consultants at the Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) by business lobby IHS.

Macfarlane said the Australian Government was building policies to encourage investment in the nation’s diverse resources and energy sector.

“The resources and energy sector is a cornerstone of Australia’s prosperity, creating jobs and encouraging ongoing investment in our industries,” Senator Macfarlane explained..

“Australia and the US are major energy producers that understand the importance of global, regional and domestic energy security and improving access to affordable energy.

“We are working together to promote global trade liberalisation through open and transparent markets and negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement with 10 other parties to open up new trade and investment opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region,” Macfarlane said.

He says gas extraction will lead the way.

“The US is gearing up to join Australia in becoming a significant LNG exporter. In fact, it is expected that our two countries will lead the expansion of global LNG trade over the remainder of the decade,” Macfarlane said.

The Industry Minister even gave shout-outs to US companies investing in new Australian energy, including Apache Corporation, Chevron, Hess, Liberty Petroleum and Murphy Oil.

“Their presence in these high risk, high reward areas shows that Australia is a significant destination for oil and gas investment, with great potential for future discoveries,” Senator Macfarlane said.