Australia's APA commits $492 million for key gas pipeline project

Origin Energy

Yesterday 01:11

Oct 22 (Reuters) - Australia's APA Group APA.AX on Thursday approved an A$700 million ($491.6 million) investment in the Bulloo Interlink Pipeline, a major east coast gas project aimed at easing forecast supply shortages in southern Australia.
Here are the details:
The final investment decision covers construction and commissioning of the pipeline, taking APA's total commitment to the project to about A$920 million, including A$220 million of early works approved in February
Construction is set to begin in early 2027, with commercial operations targeted for the winter of 2029, subject to regulatory approvals, the energy infrastructure firm said
The pipeline forms Stage 3B of its East Coast Gas Grid expansion plan, APA said
"The BIL is designed to ensure pipeline capacity is not a constraint to meet projected gas demand for Australia’s southern states later this decade and into the early 2030s," said APA Chief Executive and Managing Director Adam Watson.
APA said it had signed a five-year, take-or-pay, inflation-linked gas transportation and storage agreement with Origin Energy ORG.AX
The agreement includes summer and winter capacity on the firm's key east coast assets, including the South West Queensland Pipeline, Moomba to Sydney Pipeline and the BIL, once commissioned
Shares of APA and Origin Energy were trading flat in early trade
($1 = 1.4239 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Keshav Singh Chundawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
 ((Keshav.singhchundawat@thomsonreuters.com))