Origin Signs New Oz Gas Supply Deal

Australian energy retailer and upstream operator of Australia Pacific LNG Origin Energy has signed an agreement to buy up to 13 petajoules of gas from the Casino Henry Joint Venture for 2019 to help meet the needs of the country’s east coast domestic market, the company said September 19.

The 12-month agreement is an extension of the 2018 deal to take gas from the offshore Casino, Henry and Netherby fields in the Otway Basin.  

“Origin and other gas producers have answered the call and made sure gas is available for domestic users,” Origin’s executive general manager for energy supply and operations Greg Jarvis said.

“Gas customers on Australia’s east coast can access supply, with competitive tenders and at prices well down from their peak,” he added.

The deal comes at a time of heightened concerns by the region’s LNG industry following an announcement earlier this month by the Australian Labor Party that it intends to expand the LNG export controls which were implemented by the Liberal-National Coalition government last year – in a move aimed at securing local supply.

The Casino Henry Joint Venture comprises Cooper Energy (50%) and operator, Mitsui E&P Australia (25%) and Peedamullah Petroleum (25%).

The agreement for the supply over the 12-months is at current market prices, Cooper said.

The joint venture also entered into a new agreement with Lochard Energy for processing at the Iona Gas Plant for a minimum of one year and a maximum of three years to support a smooth transition to the Minerva Gas Plant in due course, Cooper said.

The Casino Henry joint venture announced May 1 that it has an agreement with BHP Billiton Petroleum to acquire the Minerva Gas Plant on cessation of its current operations processing gas from the Minerva gas field.