EnergyQuest Chief Executive Dr Graeme Bethune said any such government-backed investment in the project could be counter-productive, with the potential to “kill the increasing batch of private sector initiatives being evolved to increase east coast domestic supply, often in collaboration with gas buyers”.
“These initiatives are a positive development as we still see an emerging gap between demand and supply along the east coast with negative end-user consequences,” Dr Bethune said.
Dr Bethune said these initiatives would be endangered if governments were to underwrite the pipeline, rather the focus should be on speeding up approval processes and removing regulatory hurdles.
Plans for a proposed pipeline linking the NT to the east coast gas grid have gained momentum in recent months, with the NT Government granting the pipeline “˜major project status’ and signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with New South Wales to develop the domestic gas market, with the pipeline having also gained the support of the Council of Australian Governments.
APA Group is currently conducting feasibility studies for several possible routes to be finalised in late 2015.
Potential routes include a 620 km pipeline from Tennant Creek to Mt Isa at an estimated cost of $A900 million, a 1,000 km pipeline from Alice Springs to the Santos-operated Moomba gas plant in South Australia for approximately $A1.3 billion, and a 700 km pipeline to the Carpentaria Gas Pipeline.
This article first appeared in Pipeline, Plant and Offshore News. Click here to sign up for a free trial.
