Jemena has welcomed calls from the Queensland Government to bolster investment in gas pipeline infrastructure to solve the east coast gas crisis.
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The owners of the Northern Gas Pipeline linking Tennant Creek with Mount Isa, also support the Queensland Government’s approach to onshore gas development, saying the science consistently demonstrated that a well regulated onshore gas industry can help to deliver much needed additional gas to Australian businesses and households, while also creating new jobs in regional areas.
Speaking ahead of the annual gathering of gas industry leaders at the Australian Domestic Gas Conference in Sydney Jemena’s Executive General Manager of Customer and Markets, Shaun Reardon, said the gas industry was ready and willing to invest in new infrastructure provided the right policy and regulatory settings are in place.
“Queensland has set an example which other jurisdictions should follow, with onshore gas developments being assessed on their merits on a case-by-case, rather than a blanket basis,” Mr Reardon said.
Mr Reardon said this approach has led to Jemena fast-tracking its plans to develop the Galilee Basin and construct a new pipeline from Mount Isa to link the basin with the east-coast gas market, in partnership with Galilee Energy.
“This investment complements our $800 million Northern Gas Pipeline (NGP), which is set for completion by the end of the year,” Mr Reardon said.
“Once completed the NGP will be able to bring around 90TJ of additional gas to the east-coast market each day. Should sufficient gas be made available in the Northern Territory, we will be able to expand and extend the NGP so that it can transport around 700TJs of gas each day – this is enough gas to meet the average daily gas needs of Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide.”
Mr Reardon said that Jemena would outline its plans to enhance existing gas infrastructure when presenting at the Australian Domestic Gas Conference this year, while also highlighting the number of new jobs the NGP project has created.
“In 2017 the Northern Gas Pipeline project created 680 new construction jobs, including 316 positions in the Northern Territory and 373 positions in regional Queensland,” he said.
“Gas pipeline infrastructure has the potential to evolve to meet the changing needs of Australian energy users. As part of our presentation Jemena will demonstrate how we’re working to develop new gas technologies which are carbon-neutral while also delivering Australian businesses and households with reliable and affordable energy.”