A major Queensland industrial gas user, a large-scale fertiliser producer reliant on a single off-grid gas-fired facility for both feedstock and power, faced the expiry of its interim gas supply arrangements within twelve months. With no grid connection and no fuel-switching alternative, securing a long-term Gas Supply Agreement was critical to the facility staying open. At the same time, Australia's evolving domestic gas reservation policy was reshaping how east coast LNG producers viewed their domestic sales obligations, creating a shifting backdrop that needed to be factored into the negotiation strategy.
Lacey & Co was engaged to develop and run a market-tested procurement strategy for a long-term, flat-load gas supply agreement of significant scale. Rather than treating the reservation policy as background noise, we built it into the core negotiation framework. We identified which producers had structural domestic supply shortfalls relative to their export commitments, and which of those stood to gain most from securing a long-term domestic offtake ahead of the scheme. We approached those counterparties directly, framing the client's captive baseload demand as an ideal way for producers to demonstrate domestic supply credentials well ahead of any regulatory deadline. That reframed the discussion from a simple price negotiation into a mutual-benefit conversation about regulatory positioning and portfolio risk.
The strategy created genuine competitive tension among producers who recognised the commercial value of an early, voluntary domestic commitment. The client secured commercial terms materially below initial market offers, alongside a structure that preserved flexibility as the regulatory environment continues to develop. The outcome protected the long-term viability of a facility that underpins a broader regional industrial and employment ecosystem.