Australia Pacific LNG, the operator of the 9 mtpa LNG export facility on Curtis Island near Gladstone, said it has allocated additional gas supplies to the domestic market.
APNG made an additional 7.9 PJ of gas available to the domestic market since May, including finalizing the sale of 1.2 PJ to “major energy retailers” to support their retailer of last resort obligations. according to a statement.
The incremental gas sales were a direct response to tight gas supply conditions in the domestic market, and in addition to APLNG’s medium and long-term contract commitments to domestic customers, it said.
“Demand for gas on the east coast rose sharply over May and June after a cold snap, coal power plant outages and coal supply challenges, as well as lower renewables output due to weather, increasing the reliance on gas-fired generation,” APLNG’s new CEO Khoa Dao said in the statement.
“These factors contributed to tight supply in the market, and APLNG responded by executing a number of short-term sales with customers, including EnergyAustralia and AGL,” Dao said.
In fiscal 2022, APNG provided more than 150 PJs of gas to domestic customers, mostly under medium- and long-term gas supply agreements at prices which were locked in well before this year’s market volatility, the statement said.
This material volume of gas goes a long way towards meeting Australia’s total east coast
annual market demand, matching APLNG’s long-standing commitment to the
domestic market, it said.
Earlier this year, US energy giant ConocoPhillips completed the purchase of an additional 10 percent shareholding interest in APLNG from Origin Energy for about $1.64 billion.
ConocoPhillips now has a 47.5 percent share in the project but it also operates the LNG export facility on Curtis Island and the export sales business.
Origin Energy operates APLNG’s gas fields and now holds a 27.5 percent share, while China’s Sinopec owns a 25 percent share in APLNG as well.
