NZ Oil and Gas signs supply deal with Shell Australia for east coast market (updated)

Central Petroleum

15/09/2022 24:16

(Updates with detail and background)
    Sept 15 (Reuters) - New Zealand Oil and Gas (NZOG) Ltd
 NZO.NZ  said it had signed a 1-year deal with Shell's  SHEL.L 
Australian unit to deliver 0.64 petajoules (PJ) of gas from its
Mereenie gas field starting 2025 for supply into the Australian
east coast domestic market.
    The deal comes at a time Australia's east coast is forecast
to face a shortfall of 56 PJ of gas - equivalent to about 10% of
demand - in 2023, which has prompted the country's competition
watchdog to urge government to curb exports.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2ZC0FI
    The market is under pressure as a protracted Russia-Ukraine
war, along with sanctions on Russia, has disrupted supply chains
and spurred volatility in natural gas prices.
    "Gas will be supplied into the east coast domestic market,
with pricing under the GSA (gas supply agreement) reflecting
strong market conditions," NZOG said.
    The Mereenie joint venture (JV) - which operates the field
in Northern Territory, Australia and is controlled by three
companies including NZOG - will deliver up to 3.65 PJ of gas to
Shell Australia over the one-year term, NZOG said on Thursday.
(https://bit.ly/3Uf0vqb)
    New Zealand Oil and Gas (NZOG) directly and indirectly holds
a 25% stake in the JV, Central Petroleum  CTP.AX  owns another
25%, and the rest is owned by a unit of Macquarie Group
 MQG.AX .
    

 (Reporting by Archishma Iyer In Bengaluru; Editing by Devika
Syamnath and Shinjini Ganguli)
 ((Archishma.Iyer@thomsonreuters.com;))