New $140m project to fast-track gas to

east coast market

By Cole Latimer
18 June 2018 — 12:14pm
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Queensland-based gas company Senex Energy has agreed with Melbourne-
based infrastructure group Jemena to build a gas processing facility and
pipelines to bring new gas to the domestic market.

The processing facility and 60-kilometre pipeline will be built 430 kilometres
west of Brisbane and bring around 40 terajoules of gas a day to the east coast
before the end of 2019.

It will connect Senex’s Atlas gas field in the Surat Basin in south-east
Queensland to Jemena’s existing Darling Downs pipeline and Australia’s
largest single gas hub – the Wallumbilla gas hub.

Senex chief executive Ian Davies said all the gas produced was slated for
domestic markets.

“Last year we made a commitment to deliver gas to the domestic market by

the end of 2019. We are systematically bringing together all the critical
elements to do just that,” Mr Davies said.

Jemena managing director Paul Adams said this additional gas would help to
alleviate the potential gas shortage forecast by the Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission. The ACCC expects demand to outstrip domestic
supply levels, however, recent action by companies such as Senex to bring
more gas to domestic markets has helped ease this shortage.
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 This forecast shortage has been exacerbated by high levels of Australian gas
being exported and high prices.

Australia’s few gas pipeline companies have also been under the spotlight as
they face claims from the ACCCthat they operate a closed monopoly industry.
The ACCC says it wants to implement more regulation for the industry at the
same time as state governments look to clear more roadblocks for pipeline
companies in order to bring more gas to market.

“Senex’s Atlas gas field is the first of 13 gas exploration tenements awarded by
the Queensland government as part of a broader move to fast-track the
development of new gas to the domestic market. Jemena will construct the
Atlas gas processing plant and pipeline on an expedited schedule in order to
deliver first gas by the end of 2019,” Mr Adams said.

The Atlas field is surrounded by tenements owned by energy giant Shell.

This latest agreement is part of Jemena’s "Northern Growth Strategy", which is

focused on building gas and pipeline infrastructure across northern Australia.

“We know there is a continued demand for gas across the east coast and that
northern Australia will play a leading role in meeting this demand by bringing
new gas to where it is most needed, via the most economic and direct route,”
Mr Adams said.

“We are also continuing work on our Northern Gas Pipeline, which will
initially bring around 90 terajoules of gas to the east coast and are now
progressing plans to expand and extend the pipeline so that it can transport
around 700 terajoules of gas – that is enough gas to meet the average daily gas
needs of Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide combined.”

Jemena’s major gas pipeline competitor, APA, is currently a $13 billion

takeover target for Hong Kong-based CKI.
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