Jemena signs MOU to expand and extend Northern Gas Pipeline

Jemena has signed a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Tamboran Resources Limited to expedite plans to invest over $5 billion to increase the capacity of its Northern Gas Pipeline (NGP).

The MOU with Tamboran, the holder of premium acreage in the highly prospective Beetaloo/McArthur Basin, will also see Jemena working to extend the NGP from the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin to the Wallumbilla Gas Hub in Queensland.  

As part of the MOU, Tamboran – which holds 25 per cent of Santos’ exploration venture for the Beetaloo – will be responsible for upstream activities across the basin.  

Jemena’s Managing Director, Frank Tudor, said the MOU demonstrates that industry is working collaboratively to bring new gas to the east coast to underpin long-term security of supply.  

“This is an important step towards delivering on the Commonwealth Government’s plans for the Beetaloo as part of a gas-led recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mr Tudor said. 

“Through this partnership we hope to expedite the pace at which we can bring much needed additional gas to market, while creating around 4,000 jobs – many in regional Australia. 

“We hope that our partnership with Tamboran is the catalyst the market is seeking to spark the development of the Beetaloo Basin and drive Australia towards energy security, while also spurring economic development across the NT for generations.  

“While our MOU with Tamboran gives us exclusivity, it also highlights the importance of collaboration and we plan to make our infrastructure available to all industry participants.” 

As a result of the partnership, Jemena plans to progressively increase the NGP’s capacity from around 90TJs of gas per day to 1,000TJs through a combination of compression and looping. 

The NGP will then be connected to the company’s proposed Galilee Gas Pipeline, which will span around 585km and will transport gas from Galilee Energy’s Glenaras Gas Project near Longreach in the Galilee Basin to the Wallumbilla Gas Hub.  

Tamboran’s Managing Director and CEO, Joel Riddle, said, “Tamboran is focused on developing early stage, top-decile unconventional gas reserves in the NT. 

“The announcement of our partnership with Jemena represents a key building block in our efforts to bring new supplies of natural gas to energy starved eastern Australia by 2023-24.

“Successful development of the Beetaloo in coordination with Jemena’s pipeline capacity expansion represents a significant opportunity to greatly enhance gas supply in Australia and we at Tamboran are excited to be a key participant in achieving this goal.”     

The Tamboran Board and management team has a proven track record in the commercialisation of unconventional gas fields through projects across North America and plans to leverage this experience to develop the Beetaloo.  

Jemena anticipates transporting up to 200TJs of gas per day via the NGP from 2025, with transport quantities increasing as the extended and expanded pipelines are commissioned from the second half of the 2020s.  

Jemena is also considering construction of a pipeline north from the Beetaloo into Darwin once new LNG trains or local demand centres have been sanctioned, which Jemena believes could occur in the late 2020s.

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