Australian energy company Alinta has announced a major expansion of the Queensland gas pipeline. The company has also revealed that a significant new gas transportation agreement with the marketing arm of Origin Energy has become unconditional.
Alinta said that it will invest A$112 million on compression and looping for the pipeline, to provide additional capacity to meet the gas needs of Rio Tinto Aluminium’s Yarwun, Queensland alumina refinery when its expansion project is completed in 2010.
Following the completion of the pipeline expansion, the Queensland gas pipeline will have an installed capacity of approximately 49 petajoules per annum, Alinta revealed.
Alinta also reported that the new agreement with Origin has a term of 21 years, which includes the 12-month commissioning period, for the transportation of up to 24 petajoules per year.
Alinta’s acting CEO, Peter Magarry, said that the decision to expand the Queensland gas pipeline demonstrates the company’s commitment to major investment in Queensland to meet the increasing needs of industries and, in particular, the strong demand for energy in Gladstone.
In addition, the company restated its commitment to the continued growth in the development of coal seam gas within the state of Queensland.