APA Group to invest $337m in gas pipeline construction in Australia

Australian company APA Group has announced an investment of A$460m ($337.4m) towards the construction of a new gas pipeline in Western Australia.

The Northern Goldfields Interconnect (NGI) pipeline will be 580km long.

According to APA, the 12in gas pipeline will connect gas fields in the Perth Basin and the ‘resource rich’ Goldfields region, forming an interconnected WA Gas Grid.

APA noted that the Interconnect is expected to be operational by 2022.

APA CEO and managing director Rob Wheals said: “Our investment in the NGI will help stimulate significant economic development in Western Australia and has the potential to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in the Goldfields region, which is rich in gold, potash and battery minerals such as vanadium, nickel and rare earths.

“Importantly this A$460m ($337.4m) investment creates a platform for further growth for APA as more and more resources customers seek energy solutions, including renewables and battery storage underpinned by natural gas.”

APA said that the NGI Interconnect will connect to its Goldfields Gas Pipeline (GGP), which is again connected to the energy company’s Eastern Goldfields network.

NGI is expected to result in creating an interconnected ‘APA gas pipeline system’ that will cover 2,690km.

GGP is currently fully contracted at nearly 202 terajoules/day (TJ/d).

Wheals added: “Each time we have extended the system in this dynamic region, we receive more requests for connection from miners wanting a reliable and affordable energy source, complementing variable renewable energy sources such as solar and battery storage. The NGI responds to that market-driven demand, without the need for state or federal government subsidies.”

In June 2018, APA Group signed a deal to deliver gas to Incitec Pivot (IPL) from the Mereenie field in southern Northern Territory.

The company signed a deal with Cooper Energy to buy the Orbost gas processing plant in Victoria, in May 2017.