PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Energy infrastructure developer Jemena has unveiled plans for a A$5-billion investment that could see more gas production from the Northern Territory.

The company this week announced that it had inked a binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tamboran Resources, which holds premium acreage in the highly prospective Beetaloo/McArthur basin.

The MoU will see Jemena expedite plans to invest over A$5-billion to increase the capacity of its Northern gas pipeline (NGP) while also working to extend the NGP from the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo basin to the Wallumbilla gas hub in Queensland.

As part of the MoU, Tamboran, which holds 25 % of oil and gas major Santos’ exploration venture for the Beetaloo basin, will be responsible for upstream activities across the basin.

Jemena MD Frank Tudor said the MoU demonstrates that industry is working collaboratively to bring new gas to the east coast to underpin long-term security of supply.

“This is an important step towards delivering on the Commonwealth government’s plans for the Beetaloo as part of a gas-led recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Tudor.

“Through this partnership we hope to expedite the pace at which we can bring much needed additional gas to market, while creating around 4 000 jobs, many in regional Australia.

“We hope that our partnership with Tamboran is the catalyst the market is seeking to spark the development of the Beetaloo basin and drive Australia towards energy security, while also spurring economic development across the Northern Territory for generations.

“While our MoU with Tamboran gives us exclusivity, it also highlights the importance of collaboration and we plan to make our infrastructure available to all industry participants.”

As a result of the partnership Jemena plans to progressively increase the NGP’s capacity from around 90 TJ/d to 1 000 TJ/d through a combination of compression and looping. The NGP will then be connected to the company’s proposed Galilee gas pipeline, which will span around 585 km and will transport gas from Galilee Energy’s Glenaras gas project near Longreach in the Galilee basin to the Wallumbilla gas hub.

Jemena anticipates transporting up to 200 TJ/d via the NGP from 2025, with transport quantities increasing as the extended and expanded pipelines are commissioned from the second half of the 2020s.

Jemena is also considering construction of a pipeline north from the Beetaloo into Darwin once new liquefied natural gas trains or local demand centres have been sanctioned, which Jemena believes could occur in the late 2020s.