Oz APA, Incitec Ink Gas Pipe Deal

Australian energy infrastructure firm APA has reached an agreement with chemicals and fertiliser company Incitec Pivot (IPL) regarding under construction Northern Gas Pipeline, it said June 25.

The contract, which will start on the commencement of commercial operations on the Northern Gas Pipeline, will deliver gas from the Mereenie field in southern Northern Territory, to IPL’s fertiliser plant at Gibson Island, Queensland, through some 3,300km of gas pipelines, the majority of which is APA’s East Coast Grid, the company said. Gas will be received on APA’s Amadeus Gas Pipeline at Mereenie, then transported via the Northern Gas Pipeline, to enter APA’s East Coast Grid at Mount Isa. From there, it will travel via the Carpentaria Gas Pipeline, the South West Queensland Pipeline and the Roma Brisbane Pipeline to finally reach IPL’s plant near Brisbane, Queensland.

“APA is pleased to have been able to help make this deal happen, not only through our investment in developing the East Coast Grid over many years, but also because we have worked very closely with IPL to understand and then meet their needs by providing services in a market which is currently in tight supply,” APA Managing Director Mick McCormack said.

The transportation agreement is for an initial term that concludes January 1, 2020, with an extension option, APA said. Construction on the Northern Gas Pipeline began last year with the first gas from scheduled to flow in late 2018. The pipeline will link Tennant Creek in Northern Territory with Mount Isa in Queensland.