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    AGL’s OZ LNG Import Plans Face Strict Assessment

Summary

Australian energy retailer AGL’s proposed LNG import facility on the country’s east coast will need to undergo the state’s most rigorous environmental assessment, the Victorian Government said October 9.

by: Nathan Richardson

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AGL’s OZ LNG Import Plans Face Strict Assessment

Australian energy retailer AGL’s proposed LNG import facility on the country’s east coast will need to undergo the state’s most rigorous environmental assessment, the Victorian government said October 9.

“We owe it to the community and the environment to get this right and ensure this proposal is rigorously analysed by the most thorough environmental and cultural assessment tool available in the State,” the minister for planning Richard Wynne said.

“The [Environmental Effects Statement] will investigate the proposal’s effects on native vegetation, wildlife and marine life as well as Aboriginal cultural heritage areas,” he said.

AGL declined to comment on whether the state’s decision will impact their schedule for the project.

“We reconfirm our commitment to engage with the community and follow all assessment requirements deemed necessary by the State Government and regulatory bodies,” AGL’s general manager for energy supply Phaedra Deckhart said.

“Crib Point will be a safe and environmentally responsible project, making gas supply for Victorians more secure, whilst critically bringing much needed competition to place downward pressure on gas prices,” she said.

AGL’s Crib Point Gas Import Facility is planned to have a capacity of 100 PJ/year (2.67bn m3/yr). The company has previously said it is expecting to make a final investment decision on the project during the current 2018-2019 (July-June) financial year and to see first gas into the domestic market in the first half of 2020.

Australia, which is on track to be the world’s largest exporter of LNG next year, doesn’t currently import the fuel. But, a tight supply outlook for the country’s east coast has led to the announcements of four separate import project plans for the region.

Australia Industrial Energy plans to import up to 100 PJ/yr (2.67bn m3/yr) starting from 2020 at Port Kembla, New South Wales, ExxonMobil is mulling an LNG import terminal in Victoria from around 2022, and Integrated Global Partners have plans for a Pelican Point, South Australia-based, 50 PJ/yr (1.33bn m3/yr), project, aimed at first imports from mid-2020.

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