PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The federal government will award privately held Australian Gasfields A$2-million in funding to bring forward the refurbishment and restart of the Eromanga and Gilmore gas plants, in south-west Queensland, by a year.
The funding will come from the government’s A$26-million Gas Acceleration Programme (GAP), and would see an additional 8.7 PJ of energy a year being added to the national grid.
Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan said the funding added to the A$24-million investment in four projects announced in March that will supply an additional 12.4 PJ of new gas by June 2020, and an extra 27.6 PJ over five years.
"The Eromanga facility will provide additional regional infrastructure to help unlock third-party stranded gas resources,” Canavan said.
He noted that the Australian government was taking action to ensure a secure, reliable and affordable gas supply for the East Coast, to support Australian businesses and Australian jobs.
“The GAP is a significant component of the Australian government’s A$90-million investment in gas security, reliability and affordability for Australian gas users.
“It complements other measures that have helped to address domestic gas supply in the short term, like the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism and the Prime Minister’s agreement with the East Coast liquefied natural gas exporters in October 2017.
“However, the only way to safeguard gas security into the future is by increasing the supply of gas through new exploration and production. It’s good news that the Northern Territory has lifted its ban on gas development, but other states must do more of the heavy lifting too.”