PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Australia Pacific Liquefied Natural Gas (APLNG) has signed a 20-year gas transportation agreement with infrastructure provider APA Group, which will give it greater access to the domestic east coast gas market.
Under the terms of the agreement, APA will build an A$80-million, 50 km bidirectional pipeline from the APLNG Reedy Creek site, to APA’s Wallumbilla hub. The pipeline will transport up to 300 TJ/d of gas.
APA will design, build, own and operate the pipeline, and will also construct the associated connection and compression facilities.
APLNG CEO Page Maxson said on Tuesday that the new pipeline would provide the project with the opportunity to participate flexibly and fully in Australia’s dynamic gas market.
APLNG is the largest producer of natural gas in eastern Australia, and currently provides around 25% of domestic gas to the east coast market. The APLNG project comprises two processing trains, each with a 4.5-million-tonne-a-year nameplate production capacity.
Following the processing of the required pipeline development approvals and access arrangements, APA will start construction in 2017, with the pipeline forecast to be commissioned by mid-2018.