Qld and Santos continue to meet the gas supply challenge

A $750 million gas expansion by Santos GLNG in south-west Queensland will create 400 Queensland construction jobs and boost Qld gas production to 70 per cent of the east coast supply.

In a joint statement with Santos’ Executive Vice President Onshore Upstream Brett Woods, Mines Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said Santos’ investment in the Roma East Field would mean jobs, business opportunities, and royalties for Queenslanders as well as more gas supply for the Australian market and for LNG exports.

“This development will offer jobs, as well as significant local business opportunities, with  430 wells to be drilled, 420 km of pipelines to be installed and 670 km of powerlines to support the new gas infrastructure,” he said.

“We welcome this sign of confidence by Santos in Queensland as an investment destination.

“Queensland continues to be Australia’s gas powerhouse, producing 70 per cent of the total east coast gas supply.”

Mr Woods said that as a proud Australian company, Santos is delighted to support jobs and investment in regional Queensland.

“The Roma East Project is part of a $900 million capital investment that Santos and our GLNG partners will make in upstream developments in the Maranoa, Western Downs, Central Highlands and Banana regions this year alone,” Mr Woods said.

“This project will add nearly 50 PJ a year to gas production in Queensland in 2020 – equivalent to about 8 per cent of expected east coast domestic gas demand this year. This is great news for both the domestic gas market and our LNG exports.”

The Roma East project, which commenced this month, will be developed over the next three years. The project involves bringing on line another 480 wells including drilling around 430 new wells.

The project will also include around 420 km of water, gas gathering and other pipelines, 120 TJ per day of additional compression, 670 km of power lines and around 25 km of fibre optic cables. A new water-handling facility for irrigation and over 200 ha of additional irrigation in the Roma area will improve livestock carrying capacity for some local landholders.

This follows QGC’s $1.7 billion Charlie development in 2016 which will bring more jobs to our communities and further drive economic development in our regions.

“It is a further demonstration that Queensland has the right policy settings as we continue to pave the way for industry to help meet the shortage in gas supply,” Dr Lynham said.

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 Media contact: Dr Lynham - Jan Martin 0439 341 314

                           Santos -  Joanna Vaughan 0419 111 779

Eds: Video footage and still images available to download at the DNRM media centre.