Four teams shortlisted for Northern Territory gas pipeline

Northern Territory has shortlisted four teams for the development of a gas pipeline connecting the Northern Territory to the East Coast of Australia.

The four companies invited to participate in the Request for Final Proposals stage are:

• APA Group
• DDG Operations Pty Ltd (DUET)
• Merlin Energy Australia Pty Ltd
• SGSP (Australia) Assets Pty Ltd (Jemena)

Final request for proposals (RFP) stage will close in September 2015 with a successful proponent being announced shortly thereafter.

The 1,000 km gas pipeline is expected to be developed on a design, build, own and operate (DBOO) basis.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles stated:

“The North East Gas Interconnector is a critical piece of economic development infrastructure and a priority Major Project for the Territory Government. The pipeline will generate investment in regional infrastructure which means real jobs in the bush and roads that open up our remote areas, not only for the pipeline, but for other economic activity as well.

“The quality of the submissions through the Government’s competitive process for the pipeline’s construction has been so high that we now feel it is inevitable that this vital pipeline will be built. The submissions give us confidence that this project is seen by the private sector as being commercially viable and that the focus of government support will be around facilitating approval processes.”

“Through this pipeline, the Government is setting up a long term framework that grows gas supply, creates a more competitive energy market and provides access to plentiful, cheaper gas for use by local industry and domestic energy production.”

The tender process for the project was launched in November 2014. Last month Northern Territory received nine proposals for the project.

It is estimated that the Territory has more than 200 trillion cubic feet of gas resources in six onshore basins – potentially enough gas to power Australia for more than 200 years and reserves almost 20 times the size of the Ichthys LNG Project. There is also more than 30 trillion cubic feet of gas offshore.