Perth-based Clean Energy Fuels Australia has signed a five-year gas supply deal for its LNG production hub in Western Australia.
Mid-West LNG, a unit of CEFA and the developer of the small-scale LNG facility near the town of Mount Magnet, signed the deal with Beach Energy and Mitsui E&P Australia.
Under the deal, Mitsui and Beach will supply a base volume of about 2 TJ per day or 0.7 PJ per year of gas from the Xyris production facility, part of the first phase of their Waitsia gas project in Western Australia.
The supplies would start in the second quarter of fiscal 2022, Beach said in a statement on Tuesday.
In addition, there is an option to increase the base volume as CEFA’s gas requirements grow in the future, it said.
To remind, Mitsui and Beach have in December made a final investment decision on the second stage of their Waitsia gas project.
First LNG production expected this year
On the other side, CEFA’s new plant will form part of its Mid-West LNG hub. US-based infrastructure fund I Squared Capital owns CEFA.
CEFA’s Mid-West LNG is currently building the first phase of the Mount Magnet LNG facility, located about 600km north of Wickepin, and the new gas deal supports this phase.
The hub will supply LNG as fuel to generate electricity for mines and remote communities across the region, providing an alternative to diesel with reduced energy costs but also lower emissions, CEFA said.
CEFA plans to build the hub in stages including the first liquefaction train, customer storage, but also regasification facilities.
It will have a production capacity of up to 100,000 tonnes per annum of LNG, with first production scheduled for the third quarter of this year, according to CEFA.
The firm also recently singed a 15-year supply deal with WA Kaolin.
Under the deal, Mid-West LNG will supply liquefied natural gas to WA Kaolin’s Wickepin Kaolin project, located 220km south-east of Perth, which contains high-grade premium kaolinised granite.
WA Kaolin will be the second customer supplied from the Mid-West LNG hub as the firm previously signed a deal with Silver Lakes Resources’ Deflector gold mine.