The more than two dozen areas opened up to energy explorers off the western coast of Australia could help with global energy ambitions, a minister said. The government opened 28 new areas for exploration of the coast of Western Australia. Matt Canavan, the minister of natural resources for the region, said the areas offer a wide range of options for potential explorers and could boost the prospects for Australia’s energy economy. “Offshore extraction of gas will help Australia become the world’s leading exporter of liquefied natural gas in coming years,” he said in a statement. Energy company Santos leads an $18.5 billion project designed to convert coal seam natural gas to liquefied natural gas for exports to the global market. The Curtis Island LNG project is fed by a 260-mile underground pipeline from the Bowen and Surat basins in Queensland. Chevron, which has […]