Australia's Senex Energy to supply gas to Orora from key expansion project

Posco International

28/06/2023 03:40

SYDNEY, June 28 (Reuters) - Australian gas producer
Senex Energy, controlled by South Korea's Posco International
 047050.KS , said on Wednesday it has agreed to supply gas to
bottle manufacturer Orora  ORA.AX  in a second deal for an
expansion project it shelved last year.
    Senex will supply more than 14 petajoules (PJ) of gas over
10 years from January 2025, conditional on the restart of a A$1
billion ($666 million) expansion at its Atlas project in
Queensland state, it said in a statement. 
    The expansion was suspended in December amid uncertainty
over pricing after the Australian government proposed to cap
wholesale gas prices to keep a lid on soaring energy costs for
households and businesses.
        The deal with Orora comes after Senex entered a 42 PJ
gas supply deal with the country's top power producer AGL Energy
 AGL.AX  on June 16 and could ease some concerns of long-term
supply gaps for gas on the east coast.
    Orora said the gas will be used at its glass manufacturing
facility in South Australia state and help cut its greenhouse
gas emissions.
    Senex did not specify the value of the deal. 
    Senex's owners last August signed off on plans to boost
output at Atlas to 60 PJ a year by 2025, before shelving it when
the government proposed to require east coast producers to sell
gas based on production costs plus a reasonable rate of return.
        The resumption of the expansion work at Atlas requires
approvals from the federal agreement and regulators.
    
($1 = 1.5006 Australian dollars)
    
    

 (Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Sonali Paul)
 ((renju.jose@thomsonreuters.com; +61 29171 7126; Reuters
Messaging: @renjujose))