Five of Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association’s (APPEA) most prominent member companies have paid no income tax for at least the past seven years despite combined income from their Australian operations of $138 billion.

A sixth company, Santos, paid just $6 million on $28.9 billion of income, and paid no income tax from 2015 to 2018 and in 2020.

None of the companies that own and operate Queensland’s coal seam gas (CSG) liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects have paid any income tax on income earned on those projects to date.

Overall, the oil and gas industry in Australia paid $1.7 billion of income tax in 2018/19 (the most recent year for which data is available) on $110 billion of income (approx. 1.5 per cent).1

Industry claims including by APPEA that gas projects would be contributing billions of dollars in federal taxes have not eventuated.