NT pushes ahead with Moomba pipeline

The Northern Territory government is moving quickly on the construction of a gas pipeline from Alice Springs to Moomba, which it is hoped will ease NSW’s looming gas shortage and revolutionise the domestic gas market.

Just days after the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in Canberra endorsed the pipeline, the Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles has said he wants the expressions of interest process finished by the end of the year and he was confident construction could start as early as 2016.

Giles is pressing the government to make it a project of national significance, which would ease regulatory impediments, allowing construction to begin quickly.

NSW is facing a gas shortage in the latter part of this decade, due to the start of the LNG export market in Queensland and community opposition in NSW to coal-seam gas extraction. It is estimated that the pipeline could meet up to 40% of the NSW gas shortfall, and could also reduce pressure on gas prices, which are predicted to rise.

Giles said the expressions of interest would be for companies to build and operate the pipeline. He said proponents would have to identify sources of paying customers to make the pipeline bankable.

After expressions of interest were finalised, the route of the corridor would also have to be identified. Giles said the Northern Territory government would work with Geoscience Australia to help identify the best route.