The pipeline, known as the QSN Link, will be a 180km high-pressure gas pipeline that will transport AGL’s gas from Queensland to connect with Epic’s Moomba-Adelaide pipeline system and its Moomba-Sydney pipeline.
While Epic will build, own and operate the QSN Link and new compression facilities as an extension of its southwest Queensland pipeline, AGL will transport up to 390 petajoules of natural gas along the Wallumbilla to Moomba corridor from January 2009, over a 15-year period, with flexible options to increase this amount in the future.
According to AGL, this will increase gas supply security for its customers from 2009 onwards and will reduce the company’s exposure to gas supply interruptions. Construction of the pipeline will commence immediately, with completion of the project scheduled for December 2008.
AGL managing director Paul Anthony said that the pipeline will link the company’s gas to eastern markets and create the final connection to form a truly interconnected eastern Australia pipeline network, as well as delivering gas into AGL’s wholesale gas hub at Moomba at prices below existing contract levels.
This AGL-Epic initiative will materially enhance the overall competitiveness of AGL’s gas supplies into the east coast energy markets by driving basin-on-basin gas competition and pipeline-on-pipeline gas competition, Mr Anthony said.
Epic Energy’s general manager of commercial operations, Steve Banning, added: This is an exciting development for Epic Energy as it ensures that the Epic pipelines will remain of strategic value to the eastern Australian gas market.
