Australia's APA Group Approves AUD 700 Million Gas Pipeline Investment

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 22, Australia's APA Group approved an investment of AUD 700 million in the Bulloo Interlink Pipeline project, formally making a final investment decision. Together with the AUD 220 million preliminary investment approved in February this year, cumulative investment in the project has reached AUD 920 million. Construction is planned to begin in early 2027, with commercial operations commencing in winter 2029.

This high-pressure natural gas pipeline, approximately 340 kilometers long, will connect the South West Queensland Pipeline in Queensland with the Moomba to Sydney Pipeline in New South Wales, with a designed maximum transmission capacity of 800 terajoules per day. The project covers the laying of underground gas transmission pipelines and the construction of related connection facilities. Once completed, it will create a new transportation corridor running through Australia's east coast gas network.

The project is currently advancing pipe procurement, engineering design, environmental approvals, and route corridor assessment. The Bulloo Interlink Pipeline is part of Stage 3B of APA's East Coast Gas Network Expansion Plan. Stage 3A involves capacity expansion of existing pipelines and the addition of new compressor facilities, and is scheduled for completion in winter 2028. Once both stages are fully completed, the north-south gas transmission capacity of the east coast pipeline network will increase by approximately 30%.

With the new pipeline investment approved, APA has signed a five-year gas transportation and storage agreement with Origin Energy. Transportation services will commence on January 1, 2028, covering the South West Queensland Pipeline, the Moomba to Sydney Pipeline, and the Roma to Brisbane Pipeline, and will be extended to include the Bulloo Interlink Pipeline once it is commissioned. The agreement provides for different contracted capacities in summer and winter, using a take-or-pay mechanism with inflation-linked tariff provisions.

Under APA's East Coast Gas Network Expansion Plan, once Stage 3 is fully completed, the north-south gas transmission capacity added since 2023 will exceed 50%, further expanding the scale of Queensland gas resources delivered to southern Australian markets.