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Viva seeks partners for

Victorian LNG project

FINANCE & AUSTRALIAN fuel distributor Viva Energy support the development of both the terminal as
INVESTMENT has begun seeking potential partners for its well as the wider energy hub.
planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) import The energy hub project includes the
terminal in Victoria. extension of the refinery’s existing pier and
The company said on July 6 that it was open the installation of mooring facilities for
to expressions of interest (EoIs) from companies a floating regasification and storage unit
interested in helping to build the terminal, which (FSRU), with a capacity to meet around half
is a key component of Viva’s proposed Geelong the state’s total gas demand.
Energy Hub project. The company announced in Potential gas supplies could come from
June that it wanted to develop its existing refin- existing gas export projects around Australia,
ery in Geelong into an energy hub that could with Wyatt saying: “We hope to be able to
address a predicted gas supply shortfall on the bring gas from Australian production fields to
country’s east coast. where it is needed so that the whole country
The Australian Energy Market Operator can enjoy the benefits of our vast resources
(AEMO) has warned that Victoria could expe- and help bring energy prices down by increas-
rience gas shortages from as early as 2023 – with ing supply and competition.”
the rest of the eastern and southern states to fol- The project will also involve laying around
low shortly thereafter. 6.5km of underground pipeline to transport
Viva said this week that, following the suc- gas to the existing grid. A solar farm is slated for
cessful completion of the terminal’s initial tech- development and the company is mulling alter-
nical studies, the way was clear to begin the native fuel production.
front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase Wyatt said: “Viva is currently assessing the
this year. feasibility to establish a solar energy farm on sur-
Company CEO Scott Wyatt said the busi- plus refinery land and the potential for gas-fired
ness was looking to form commercial strategic power generation and hydrogen production to
partnerships with other companies that could support this emerging sector.”™

APPEA uses IGU survey in

Australian gas price debate

POLICY AUSTRALIA’S upstream industry lobby has of 53 countries showed that Australia’s price
used a new International Gas Union (IGU) was around 40% less than the Asia-Pacific’s
report to counter arguments that the country’s average wholesale price, while it was just shy
wholesale natural gas prices are too high. of being 30% cheaper than the Asian region’s
Australia’s wholesale gas price averaged average wholesale price.
$5.58 per mmBtu ($154.34 per 1,000 cubic The IGU’s survey results showed that Taiwan,
metres) in 2019, according to the IGU’s South Korea and Japan paid the highest whole-
Wholesale Gas Price Survey 2020. The survey sale gas price at or more than $10 per mmBtu

Week 27 09•July•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P11