Company tax everywhere is paid in profit, they paid no tax because depreciation is greater than profit during a downturn. Tax early after going into production is always lower as depreciation is higher. If oil prices had stayed low then these multinationals wouldn't have made a return kn investment. PRRT is design to encourage spend in resources, company tax to tax profits. Only individuals pay tax on revenue.
To put it simply. Pluto LNG cost around 15B. Generating 1.8B in revenue. If no deductions for depreciation and PRRT were available then WPL would make ~750M/yr, with the rest going to government. That would put it at a ROI of 5% - below the interest rates for loans that WPL took out at FID. Tax reductions are there for a reason, because otherwise there wouldn't be any LNG plant built in Australia... Long term this is eventually what WPL will receive from pluto train 1 each year towards end of fuel life, government take will be highest then.
When you look at how little cash the NWS provides WPL in comparison the big difference is the age of the facilities mean the government takes significantly more. Much of Qatar's LNG is in the same boat.
