Overview

• Chief executive Mark Vassella told the National Press Club that high east‑coast gas prices could stop BlueScope from lodging a bid for the collapsed Whyalla steelworks.
• BlueScope is leading a consortium with Nippon Steel, POSCO and JSW to assess a purchase, alongside a $2.4 billion government package that includes $1.9 billion for future owner upgrades.
• The preferred plan is to shift Whyalla from coal‑fired furnaces to gas‑based direct reduction, which Vassella says hinges on reliable, competitively priced gas supply.
• BlueScope and Manufacturing Australia urged options including an east‑coast gas reservation scheme, government bulk‑buying, or a levy on uncontracted LNG exports, citing an average east‑coast price of about $10.30 per gigajoule versus roughly $2–$3 in the United States and Qatar.
• LNG exporters offered mixed signals on intervention, with some open to a reservation framework and others warning of investment and contractual risks, as a federal review proceeds and Bass Strait output declines.