APA’s pipeline plan to benefit Strike Energy

APA Group is investing $460 million to construct a 580km pipeline in Western Australia that will connect emerging gas fields in the Perth Basin to the Goldfields region.

The Northern Goldfields interconnect (NGI) is expected to be operational by mid-2022, and is set to stimulate economic development in Western Australia. It has the potential open up new regions for development, supporting thousands of jobs both during and post-construction.

Chief executive officer and managing director Rob Wheals said having developed an interconnected gas grid on the East Coast that flexibly and seamlessly moves gas throughout eastern Australia, APA is thrilled to now be creating an interconnected Western Australian gas grid.

“By connecting existing pipelines, our investment decision to build the NGI will not only add capacity to the system but will also increase gas supply options for customers,” Wheals said.

“Importantly this $460 million investment creates a platform for further growth for APA as more and more resources customers seek energy solutions, including renewables and battery storage underpinned by natural gas.”

The NGI will connect to APA’s Goldfields gas pipeline (GGP) which in turn connects to its Eastern Goldfields network – creating an interconnected APA gas pipeline system covering 2690km from north to south and west to east.

The pipeline is set to deliver double the additional capacity of 80 terajoules a day (TJ/d) to the Goldfields region compared with spending the same amount to expand the existing GGP, which is fully contracted at 202 TJ/d.

In addition, Strike Energy is set to benefit from APA’s decision to develop a new gas grid in Western Australia, with the company’s onshore gas assets becoming the closest source of supply to the new grid, increasing its geographical advantage from 70 per cent to more than 80 per cent of the state’s exisiting domestic gas market.

Managing director Stuart Nicholls said APA’s pipeline announcement was a significant endorsement in the potential of the Perth Basin to be a long term, competitive source of energy for the Goldfields region.

“Gas is the fuel of choice to replace diesel fired electricity in the Goldfields. It is reliable and affordable, has significantly lower emission, and facilitates high penetration of complimentary renewable energy,” Nicholls said.

“Strike Energy’s markets access continues to grow. We look forward to engaging further in discussions with potential end-users of Perth Basin gas.”

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