AGL Submits Oz Terminal Plan to Victorian Government

Australian energy firm AGL and gas infrastructure company APA have submitted a detailed documentation to the Victorian planning ministry pertaining to the proposed LNG import terminal and pipeline at Crib Point in the state of Victoria, AGL said this week. The companies have decided to speed up the project: although there are gas reserves onshore and offshore Victoria, the state government has banned hydraulic fracturing.

AGL said that “there have been some changes in the technical reports from the initial drafts published online which are due to advancement in project design and engineering, further clarity on the gas demand model for the project and feedback from the community.”

The companies are also submitting referrals under federal legislation for the AGL Gas Import Jetty Project and the APA Crib Point Pakenham Pipeline Project. “The referrals, submitted together, are for the AGL Gas Import Jetty Project and the APA Crib Point Pakenham Pipeline Project,” AGL said.

AGL is planning a floating storage and regassification unit (FSRU)-based LNG project. The terminal will be connected by pipeline to an existing gas pipeline in Pakenham. APA has entered into a development agreement with AGLregarding a high-pressure gas pipeline.

With a gas shortage expected in the Australian east coast markets, at least four companies have proposed LNG import facilities on the east coast: AGL, ExxonMobil, Mitsubishi and Squadron Energy.

Last month, Australian Industrial Energy (AIE), a venture comprising Squadron, Marubeni and Jera, signed a charter contract with Norway’s Hoegh LNG for its FSRU-based Port Kembla LNG import terminal project on the coast of New South Wales (NSW).

South Australia also opposes fracking

Victoria's government is not alone in banning fracking onshore: neighbouring South Australia has imposed a 10-year ban on hydraulic fracturing in the state’s southeast, reversing an earlier decision to allow it. “It is disappointing to see the state government align with the Greens and an opportunistic Independent by changing its position on a legislated moratorium,” said the upstream lobby group Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association September 5. 

“In doing so, the government is playing short-term politics with an industry making a vital contribution to the state’s economic and energy security. Just weeks ago, the Marshall Liberal Government sensibly rejected a Greens bill seeking to lock the moratorium into legislation. Today’s decision puts at risk the state’s hard-won reputation as a stable policy environment in which resources companies could invest. The backflip comes just as political leaders elsewhere are highlighting the need to secure new gas supplies and attacking unscientific bans in other states.”