Page 9 - AsiaElec Week 47

AsiaElec CBM AsiaElec

Australia approves’ Narrabri CBM project

AUSTRALIA THE Australian government has approved San- appraisal programme ahead of a final invest-
tos’ Narrabri coal-bed methane (CBM) project ment decision (FID) on the next phase of
in New South Wales, paving the way for a major development.
new source of domestic gas supply. The company said it had already begun work-
Australia Environment Minister Sussan Ley over activities on existing wells under its current
said on November 24 that she had approved exploration tenures and was working to secure
the proposed AUD3.6bn ($2.65bn) project various agreements required before proceeding
after having reviewed the NSW government’s to the next phase of development. Santos intends
own assessment, which imposed “strict condi- to up to 850 wells with eventual output ring-
tions on clearing limits, impact mitigation and fenced for the local market.
rehabilitation”. Santos has previously said the project could
She said: “I am satisfied that the conditions, deliver 70 PJ (1.82bn cubic metres) per year of
and the staged nature of work in the area, will additional gas to the domestic market by 2023.
safeguard the biodiversity of the Pilliga Forest.” With NSW importing 95% of the gas it needs
Those conditions include ongoing bore-mon- from other states, Narrabri could help to lower
itoring and modelling to identify any potential the state’s gas bill.
impacts on groundwater aquifers before they However, Institute for Energy Economics
occur, binding protocols identifying corrective and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) financial ana-
actions at gas wells where a groundwater exceed- lyst Bruce Robertson has poured cold water on
ance is predicted as well as a chemical risk assess- those projections. He argued in the run-up to
ment framework to protect the environment and the IPC’s approval that Santos could not make
water resources during CBM operations. a profit from Narrabri without selling the gas at
Canberra’s approval comes after the NSW much higher prices.
Independent Planning Commission (IPC) He said that while the government is cam-
green-lit the project in September, while impos- paigning for Australian gas prices of around
ing 134 conditions. Santos said the federal gov- AUD4 ($2.95) per GJ to underwrite a boom in
ernment’s conditions were in line with those that the domestic manufacturing sector, Narrabri
the IPC had set out. production would likely cost around AUD8.50
Securing Ley’s approval was the final regu- [$6.26] per gigajoule. This, he said, meant “gas
latory hurdle for the project, with Santos not- consumers are likely to see higher, not lower gas
ing that it would now conduct a 12-18 month prices if the fields are approved”.™
GAS-FIRED GENERATION

CNOOC to expand Binhai LNG terminal

AUSTRLIA CHINA National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) November 17 that two 200,000 cubic metres
intends to add 1.62mn cubic metres of liquefied LNG storage tanks had been completed and
natural gas (LNG) storage capacity at its Binhai commissioned at CNOOC’s Shanghai terminal.
terminal in Jiangsu Province. Natural Gas World quoted the state power gen-
The company will build six 270,000 cubic erator as saying the additional tanks brought the
metre tanks, the State-owned Assets Supervision terminal’s storage capacity up to 895,000 cubic
and Administration Commission of the State metres.
Council (SASAC) announced on November 18, China is ramping up its purchases both to
adding that construction is slated for completion meet increasing demand during the country’s
in 2023. winter heating season, which started on Novem-
SASAC said the Henan provincial govern- ber 15 and runs until March 15, as well as facili-
ment would invest in two of the tanks and noted tate a wider trend of coal-to-gas conversions.
that this was the first time a local government The country’s main economic planner, the
had invested in LNG infrastructure beyond its National Development and Reform Commis-
administrative region. sion (NDRC), warned last month that national
The first phase of the Binhai LNG terminal, gas supplies could be tight during December and
which is slated to come online in 2021, involves January.
the construction of a 3mn tonne per year (tpy) It also emerged in October that the Chinese
receiving terminal, four 220,000 cubic metre Ministry of Ecology and Environment intended
storage tanks, supporting pipeline infrastructure to replace coal with cleaner sources of energy –
and a thermal power plant (TPP). including gas – in the heating systems of 7.09mn
In related news, China National Nuclear households by the end of the month.™
Corp. (CNNC) reportedly announced on

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