QUEENSLAND, Australia--The Australian Petroleum Producing and Exploration Association (Appea) has lauded the natural gas industry for creating the country’s highest growth rate in Queensland—an accomplishment that the peak petroleum industry body says will deliver benefits for decades to come.

In the Sunshine State’s recent budget delivery, Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls said the ramp-up in LNG production from the three Gladstone plants under construction on Curtis Island “is expected to underpin a surge in exports which, combined with an improved domestic economy, is forecast to boost economic growth to an 11-year high of around 6%. This will be the highest in the nation.”

Appea said the budget had highlighted “the considerable value a growing and vibrant natural gas industry provides to the state with jobs, investment and community funding set to deliver the benefits for decades to come.”

Paul Fennelly, the CEO for Appea in Eastern Australia, said, “Ten years ago there was barely a natural gas industry in Queensland. Today we are looking forward to Queensland’s growth rate being the highest in the country off the back of gas exports.

“It’s an extraordinary achievement. It shows what’s possible when companies, landholders, governments and the community work together to make the state’s natural gas industry not only viable, but successful and safe.”

Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls is counting on a surge of LNG exports to bolster economic growth.

Queensland’s gas industry is spending around AU$70 billion on coal seam gas-to-LNG projects, with first exports planned later this year.

Fennelly said, “As a result, a significant portion of the more than $2.8 billion in resources industry revenue in 2014 to 15 will be coming directly from the gas industry.

“In fact, if resource industry royalty payments were spent solely on education, they would fund almost 40% of Queensland’s entire education budget.

“The Queensland Government, in stark comparison to NSW [New South Wales] and Victoria, continues to show strong leadership. The result is that the people of Queensland benefit from the development of a new industry under strong and sensible regulations.”

Dale Granger is the editor of Oil and Gas Investor Australia.