Australian APA to Build Gas Pipeline in Western Australia

Australian APA Group will build a gas transmission pipeline and a gas–fired power station to supply power to the Gruyere Gold Project in Western Australia, it said June 21.

APA will design, build, own and operate the 198-km pipeline – to be called Yamarna Gas Pipeline – and 45-MW gas-fired power station, with a total cost of around A$180mn (US$136mn).

The Gruyere Project is a 50:50 joint venture between the Gold Road Resources and miner Gold Fields. It is in the Yamarna greenstone belt of Western Australia.

A 15-year transportation agreement has been entered into to support a 15-year electricity supply agreement with the Gruyere JV to deliver the necessary energy for the project, APA said. Both gas pipeline and the power project will be commissioned by late 2018.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement issued June 20, APA said it has entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Blue Energy to work together to facilitate options for the delivery of gas from latter’s gas resources in the Bowen Basin in north eastern Queensland, to the east coast gas markets. The two parties will work together to explore the development of new pipeline infrastructure and other related mid-stream infrastructure required to bring these new gas resources online.

Australian east coast is facing shortage of gas. In order to increase supply of gas, the Australian government June 20 said it will regulate exports of LNG.

Shardul Sharma