The Queensland Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) consortium has signed a 20-year natural gas transportation agreement with Melbourne-based APA Group that will result in a domestic gas pipeline from APLNG’s network directly to the Wallumbilla gas-supply hub east of Roma in southeast Queensland.
APA will build and operate the 50-km bidirectional line, which will start at APLNG’s Reedy Creek field site and provide direct access to the domestic market via Wallumbilla.
APLNG says its strong reserves position provides flexibility and the pipeline will provide the opportunity to participate flexibly and fully in the Australian home market.
APLNG already supplies about 25% of the domestic gas to Australia’s east coast market. It has substantial coal seam gas resources in the Surat and Bowen basins of Queensland as well as a 530-km transmission pipeline from these fields to its two-train LNG facility on Curtis Island near Gladstone.
The new link to Wallumbilla also will act as insurance in that gas supplies from Wallumbilla hub could also be sent back to APLNG’s network to feed the LNG plant if required.
The APLNG consortium comprises ConocoPhillips 37.5%, Origin Energy Ltd. 37.5%, and Sinopec 25%.