Jemena to Extend Oz Eastern Gas Pipe

Australian gas infrastructure company Jemena on September 28 announced plans to extend its 797-km Eastern Gas Pipeline (EGP) by around 185 km and modify the pipeline so it can transport more gas to New South Wales.

The company also intends to modify the pipeline to move gas bi-directionally between New South Wales and Victoria. At present, the EGP delivers gas one way from Longford in Victoria’s Gippsland region to Sydney and Canberra. The pipeline is capable of transporting around 360 terajoules/day, Jemena said.

Jemena’s managing director, Frank Tudor, said the project would connect the Hunter Valley to existing domestic gas fields and emerging new sources of gas including a proposed LNG import terminal at Port Kembla and another planned import terminal at Newcastle.

“Jemena is looking to invest upwards of A$400mn to extend the EGP north from Horsley Park into the Hunter Valley,” said Tudor. “Our project is ideally placed to shore up supply for industry in the region and would be capable of servicing new gas-powered generation on the Central Coast. Our early modelling suggests an extension of the EGP would be capable of delivering upwards of 300TJ/per day to the Hunter Valley which can be used to generate approximately 1,500MW of electricity.”

Jemena expects to make a final investment decision on the EGP Horsley Park to Hunter Valley extension project by the end of 2021, with first gas to flow as early as 2023.

Earlier this year, Jemena announced plans to connect the EGP with the proposed Port Kembla LNG import terminal in New South Wales.