Australia’s Santos signs agreement to supply ethane gas to Qenos

Australian energy company Santos, along with Origin Energy, has signed an agreement to supply ethane gas to polyethylene producer Qenos.

As per the deal, the companies have agreed to supply around 27 petajoules (PJ) to Qenos between now and the end of 2019.

According to Santos, processing of the ethane will take place at the company-operated Moomba gas plant before being transported to Qenos’ operations at Botany Bay in Sydney for use as a feedstock in the manufacture of polyethylene. 

Santos managing director and CEO Kevin Gallagher said: “The Cooper Basin has been supplying ethane to Qenos for over 20 years, and I am delighted we have been able to agree new supply arrangements with the company and reinforce our support for Australia’s manufacturing industry.

“The agreement also highlights the point that gas is not only a clean, reliable energy source, it is a critical constituent in a range of manufactured products.”

Meanwhile, the company declared that it is offering ten-year senior fixed-rate bonds at a value of $800m.

Through the proceeds from the offering, the company intends to cut its net debt to $2bn by the end of 2019.

Additionally, Santos, together with its GLNG joint venture partners, agreed to supply 30PJ of gas to the east coast domestic market over the next two years.