Duet Group subsidiary to build gas storage facility in Western Australia

DBP Development Group (DDG), a fully owned subsidiary of Duet Group, has announced its plans to build a gas storage facility in Western Australia.

The facility will utilise the DDG’s depleted Tubridgi onshore gas reservoir, located nearly 30km from Onslow in Western Australia.

Chevron-operated Wheatstone and BHP-operated Macedon domestic gas production facilities are located near to this proposed unit.

The facility will have a storage capacity of 42PJ and will have injection and withdrawal rates of around 50TJ per day.

DDG CEO Stuart Johnston said: “The Tubridgi gas storage facility will benefit producers and customers alike who may require storage capacity to bank unused gas, smooth production profiles or to store gas to cover planned production outages.

“DDG has an outstanding reputation as a safe and reliable developer, owner and operator of critical gas infrastructure, and we look forward to ensuring these standards are continued on this project.”

CITIC subsidiary, CITIC Pacific Mining Management (CPM) that operates Sino Iron magnetite project at Cape Preston, has signed a ten-year gas storage agreement with DDG to become the first customer of this facility. The agreement also holds the option to be extended by another five years.

DDG is currently negotiating with other customers to seal additional contracts.

CPM CEO Chen Zeng said: “This decision shows how our investment in Sino Iron continues to underpin the development of critical infrastructure for Western Australia. This is a win-win result. A reliable, cost-effective energy supply is very important for our project.

“The Tubridgi storage facility will greatly assist us in managing our operational requirements for energy over the long term.

"We’re looking forward to working closely with DDG for many years to come.”

Total construction cost of this facility is approximately $69m. About $38m will be funded by Duet's corporate working capital, while the remaining amount would be procured from DDG’s bank debt facility.

The gas storage facility is expected to become operational by June next year.

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Image: Location of the DDG gas storage facility. Photo: Courtesy of Dbp.net.au.