Australian Gas Networks to Expand Gas Pipeline Network in South Australia
Adelaide based Australian Gas Networks (AGN) has planned a A$12 million investment in South Australia to boost gas supplies.
AGN will build a new A$6 million pipeline to supply natural gas to the internationally renowned McLaren Vale wine and tourism district. Simultaneously the company is funding a significant A$6 million upgrade to the Seaford Aldinga high pressure network - the main gas pipeline supplying Adelaide’s southern coastal region including Seaford, Aldinga and Seaford Meadows - to improve and increase gas supplies to thousands of homes and businesses in the region.
AGN’s A$12 million commitment to both projects follows its A$14 million dollar upgrade to the natural gas pipeline that supplies Mildura in Victoria late last year and a A$19.8 million pipeline it is currently constructing at the Port of Bundaberg in Queensland.
“The combined projects in Adelaide’s southern districts are the latest in a continuous improvement program we undertake in all of the jurisdictions in which we operate,” Australian Gas Networks Chief Operating Officer, Andrew Staniford, said on May 16. “Importantly, the new pipeline to McLaren Vale will provide a major economic boost for the area as hundreds of businesses and homeowners will be able to access natural gas for the first time,” he said.
Staniford said first stage of the McLaren Vale project involved the construction of a six kilometre gas supply main from Commercial Road, Maslin Beach to McLaren Vale. That work has been completed and the pipeline was successfully commissioned last month. Second stage - which commenced earlier this month- involves construction of about 18 kilometres of reticulation pipeline to make natural gas available to the majority of commercial and residential properties within the township. This will take up to two years to complete and.
The upgrade to the Seaford Aldinga high pressure network included a 1.5 kilometre extension, a transmission to a high pressure regulator, and a 1.8 kilometre polyethylene main to connect to the existing network.
AGN owns about 23,000 kilometres of natural gas distribution networks and 1,100 kilometres of transmission pipelines, serving over 1.2 million consumers in South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and the Northern Territory.
AGN has contracted APA Group to operate and maintain its gas distribution assets around Australia.