Solid future for gas in the NT – industry

Australian Pipelines and Gas Association chief executive officer Steve Davies said pipeliners were especially pleased to be holding the 2018 APGA Annual Convention and Exhibition in Darwin.

Recent developments in the Territory pointed to an exciting future for gas, he said.

“The new Northern Gas Pipeline is expected to begin transporting gas from the NT to the east coast gas market by the end of this year,” Mr Davies said.

“That connection opens up a number of future possibilities.

“The NT Government has investigated the possibility of exploiting shale gas through a rigorous inquiry and wide consultation with the community.

“The government is to be congratulated on accepting the advice of that independent inquiry and establishing a robust process for assessing future projects.

“And just in the past few days, the government has announced the NT Gas Strategy which aims to expand all aspects of the gas industry in the territory.

“The future for gas certainly looks bright in the north of Australia.

“This is also good news for the rest of the country.

Putting more gas in the market has the potential to open opportunities for industry throughout the east coast gas market.

“Gas used directly has only half of the carbon emissions of energy from coal, and gas generators are a flexible and versatile addition to our electricity generation, enabling the firming power needed with the increasing use of renewables.

“And gas is reliably transported via a steadily expanding network of pipelines that has demonstrated over the past 50 years a very high level of safety.

“No-one thinks much about how water and gas get to their businesses and homes, and that’s because our transmission pipelines get the job done quietly and with certainty.”