The East Coast gas market will be boosted with additional supplies of gas from four projects to be funded under the Australian Government’s $26 million Gas Acceleration Program (GAP).
Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan said the projects would supply an extra 12.4 petajoules of new gas to the East Coast market by 30 June 2020 and an extra 27.6 petajoules over five years.
Minister Canavan said this extra supply would help safeguard Australia’s future gas security.
“Gas is vital to Australia’s energy security as a fuel, as a feedstock for industry, and as a source of energy generation,” Minister Canavan said.
“We must continue to invest in the gas sector to ensure a secure, reliable and affordable gas supply. Bringing more gas to market will help Australian businesses remain competitive, create more jobs and reduce cost of living pressures on all Australians.
“While Australian Government measures like the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism and the Prime Minister’s agreement with LNG exporters in October 2017 have helped to address domestic gas supply in the short term, the only way to provide gas security into the future is by increasing the supply of gas through increased development.
“We can access our plentiful gas resources in a responsible and balanced way, using the best available science. I encourage all States and Territories with limitations on gas projects to rethink their blanket bans.
“The GAP is fast tracking projects with the best prospects of bringing significant new gas volumes to target markets by mid-2020.”
The funded projects include:
· the Kincora Gas Acceleration Project—Armour Energy (Surat Basin) Pty Ltd—will receive a $6 million grant towards a $16.1 million project to drill three additional production wells at the Kincora Gas Plant in Queensland, delivering an estimated 6.9 petajoules of gas by June 2020 into the Roma Brisbane Pipeline, supplying the Brisbane, Gold Coast and other southern Queensland markets. The project is expected to deliver an additional 14 petajoules of gas over the life of the accelerated wells.
· the Greater Meridian Domestic Gas Acceleration Project—Westside Corporation Pty Ltd—will receive a $6 million grant towards its $14.3 million project to drill 10 additional single lateral wells in Queensland’s Bowen Basin. The GAP funding brings these works forward from 2021, and will deliver to the domestic market an estimated 1.7 petajoules of gas by June 2020, and 12 petajoules over the economic life of the wells.
· a $6 million grant for Beach Energy Ltd (Adelaide Energy Pty Ltd) – a $22.6 million project to construct a new Katnook Gas Processing Facility with the potential to process up to 10 terajoule per day of gas from a recent discovery well in the Otway Basin, South Australia. This will accelerate supply to the local South East South Australian market and help facilitate exploration of other targets in the region.
· a $6 million grant for a $16.3 million project by Tri-Star Fairfields to develop four new wells west of Rolleston, Queensland, producing an estimated 3.9 terajoules per day by 2019. These wells, adjacent to proven gas fields in the Bowen Basin, are the first stage of a longer term project to develop 500 new wells delivering around 1,719 petajoules over the project life.
“The GAP is a significant component of the Australian Government’s $90 million investment in gas security, reliability and affordability for Australian gas users,” Minister Canavan said.
For more information, visit www.business.gov.au/gap