How long have you been at Jemena, and what was your background in pipelines prior to entering the position?
Jemena’s purpose is to deliver energy to its customers. My role as the General Manager Commercial and Business Development for Jemena Pipelines is to facilitate and support the development of strategic gas transportation solutions on the east coast of Australia.
I spend a lot of time working with energy retailers, wholesalers, gas producers as well as government regulators and industry bodies. I believe it is critical to remain engaged with the energy industry in order to meet the changing needs of energy consumers. Jemena currently provides and is seeking to develop reliable competitive pipeline routes which in the long term will mean gas customers have options when it comes to managing their broader gas portfolios.
I joined Jemena in 2007 after almost ten years in the petrochemical industry where I held roles in engineering, commercial and business strategy.
Prior to taking on my current role as General Manager – Commercial and Business Development earlier this year, I was the General Manager Pipelines accountable for the performance of Jemena’s Pipeline Business. Jemena’s pipeline portfolio includes the Eastern Gas Pipeline (EGP), Queensland Gas Pipeline (QGP), the VicHub Interconnect and the Colongra Lateral Pipeline.
Since 2007, the Jemena EGP team has successfully completed two major pipeline projects, namely the addition of a midline compressor station near Mila in New South Wales and the installation of a fourth compressor at Longford in Victoria. Both projects were completed in time to meet customer expectations.
Jemena also successfully designed and built the Colongra Lateral Pipeline not only to deliver gas to Delta’s new 600 MW gas-fired peaking power station but also to store enough gas to allow the power station to run at full capacity for five hours.
During this time the QGP has also been expanded, doubling its capacity with a 113 km looped section and two mid-line compressor stations.
I am a member of the APIA and I have been involved with a number of industry working groups such as the APIA Regulatory Affairs Committee. I also hold a Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering and Commerce.
There has been media speculation recently about Jemena expanding the Eastern Gas Pipeline. Why does Jemena think this is necessary?
Jemena is actively seeking opportunities to expand its pipeline assets such as the EGP and the QGP to provide future transportation solutions for our customers.
We are currently aggregating loads for an expansion of EGP with the addition of two new mid-line compressor stations. We anticipate being in a position to kick off this project later this year subject to customer demand.
I believe this expansion is necessary as the EGP is a key supply artery between the Gippsland Basin and NSW. It supplies more than half the gas consumed in NSW so it is ideally located to meet the growing demand for natural gas in NSW from residential, industrial and commercial customers, particularly as the supply dynamics on the east coast change.
The current changes in the east coast gas market mean gas transmission pipelines are critical in linking key demand and supply centres and providing highly reliable transportation services. Jemena is also interested in developing new pipelines if this is required to secure supply for our customers.
The EGP supplies gas to a number of regional gas distribution networks as well as the Jemena Natural Gas Network (JGN) which distributes gas to over 1.1 million homes and businesses throughout NSW. On the JGN, 30,000 new customer sites are added each year and this is driving an increase in demand for natural gas.
Industrial and commercial users include Bluescope Steel at Port Kembla, Marubeni’s power station at Smithfield and EnergyAustralia’s power station at Tallawarra.
How would an expansion of the EGP take place? And is there a broad timeline the company thinks that this could take place?
To service the increasing demand for gas transmission in NSW the next logical capacity expansion can be achieved through the addition of two new compressors on the mainline at Orbost (Victoria) and Michelago (NSW).
It is anticipated that this next stage of expansion will increase the EGP’s total capacity from 106 PJ/a to 130 PJ/a and will take approximately two years to deliver. There is also the capability to loop the EGP in the future should demand exceed the expansion plans that are under consideration.
Are there any other potential expansion opportunities for Jemena Pipelines’ other 100 per cent-owned transmission gas pipelines?
Yes. With the QGP, there is the potential to continue to play a key role in shipping gas to Gladstone, both for the domestic market and for LNG opportunities.
Jemena has recently entered into an agreement to expand the QGP with commissioning expected in 2015. In addition, further expansion opportunities for the domestic market or the LNG market are being pursued.
In March 2011, LNG Ltd signed an agreement with Jemena to investigate the expansion capacity of the pipeline to evaluate the potential for it to transport gas from the Wallumbilla Gas Hub to the Callide Gas Hub in Gladstone.
The QGP also supplies gas to commercial and industrial customers such as Queensland Alumina, Rio Tinto, Orica, Boyne Smelter and Queensland Magnesia, so we are in an ideal position to meet an increase in demand from such customers.
Would there be any pre-FEED contracts available for these proposed expansion projects in the next couple of years?
Detailed design work for the QGP expansion is currently underway and Jemena hopes to pursue other pre-FEED and FEED studies over the next couple of years.
How will Australia’s current/future gas pricing affect the progression of these potential expansion projects?
These potential expansion projects are part of the solution to bring more gas supplies to market as the market responds to the changes in the gas industry. Our transmission pipelines are ideally located to meet growth in demand for gas in
New South Wales, Victoria or Queensland.
In addition, Jemena is always interested in developing new pipelines if there is market demand.