Australian energy giant Santos has bought a company planning to build a new pipeline to send gas from Queensland to the nation’s southern states.
Energy giant Santos has bought a company with plans to build a new pipeline to send gas from Queensland to Australia's southern states, which it says could help ease the threat of looming shortfalls in coming years.
The company owns an underground pipeline route that aims to connect Queensland’s Wallumbilla gas hub to markets in Newcastle and Sydney. “At a time when the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is forecasting domestic gas shortfalls, our Narrabri project, which is 100 per cent committed to the domestic market, will inject new supply into southern domestic markets and put downward pressure on gas prices for New South Wales businesses, manufacturers and families,” Santos’ midstream and clean fuels president Brett Woods said.
The Hunter Gas Pipeline offers an alternative to the single pipeline that currently transports gas from the large gas ventures in Queensland to Victoria and NSW via South Australia, which often runs at capacity during peak periods of peak gas demand.Santos is aiming to start construction of the pipeline in 2024 subject to remaining approvals. However, it still needs to overcome potential hurdles from local landholders and councils that may be opposed to the project.