❓ The Premier highlights the significance of the Macedon domestic gas plant for Western Australia, emphasising its contribution to domestic gas supply, economic transformation, and the impact of deregulation on investment.
AnsweredQoN 567Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MACEDON DOMESTIC GAS PLANT
567. Mr S.K. L'ESTRANGE to the Premier:
I was pleased to join the Premier in attending the official
opening of the Macedon domestic gas plant. Can the Premier please explain to
the house the significance of this new gas plant for Western Australia?
567. Mr S.K. L'ESTRANGE to the Premier:
I was pleased to join the Premier in attending the official
opening of the Macedon domestic gas plant. Can the Premier please explain to
the house the significance of this new gas plant for Western Australia?
AnswerView source ↗
I was very pleased that the member for Churchlands could come
with me to the opening of that, along with the Leader of the Opposition and the
member for North West Central.
The oil and gas industry has been the greatest transformation
in the Western Australian economy for decades. It really has grown since the
early 1990s. Although much of the debate is about mega-LNG projects such as
Gorgon, Wheatstone and others, some mid-sized projects could be more important
to Western Australia. About 18 months ago, I was fortunate enough to open the
Devil Creek project, a little further north; and on Friday, to open the Macedon
project. The Macedon project is not to export LNG; it is developing a smaller
gas field, about one trillion cubic feet of gas, entirely for the domestic
market. It will produce 200 terajoules of gas per day, which equates to about
20 per cent of the Western Australian domestic gas supply; as did Devil Creek.
They are two very important projects. That matters to the state. I congratulate
the partners, BHP Billiton Petroleum and Apache Northwest; it is an excellent
project. Beyond the gas it produces and the supply of 20 per cent of our
domestic gas, there are another two factors worth noting about this project.
First, it is the first completed project in the Ashburton North Strategic
Industrial Area. It had been under development over the past couple of years.
This project is now completed and into operation. Of course, adjacent to it is
the Wheatstone project—the $30 billion LNG and domestic gas project—which
is in the very early stages of production.
Because of this government's decision to develop an
industrial estate, we have one project completed and one project going into
heavier construction, with future projects to come. That is transforming the
economy of Onslow, as the Minister for Regional Development said previously.
When the original Dampier to Bunbury to Perth pipeline was built, it was built
by the then state government through the State Energy Commission of Western
Australia. The specification of gas to go through it was according to the gas
of the North West Shelf—that is, its chemical composition, moisture
content, inerts and so on. While that was fine and served the state very well
for a long time, as other gas fields were discovered, naturally there were
differences in the composition of the gas in terms of chemicals, inerts and so
on. The restrictive conditions on the type of gas, or the specification of gas,
that could go into the pipeline constrained development. In 2010, this
government relaxed some of those conditions or specifications for gas that
could go into the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline. Steve Pastor, the
Houston head of BHP Billiton Petroleum, made the point that that simple measure
to deregulate actually made possible the whole Macedon project. It is a
striking example of one simple deregulatory measure taken by a government that
brought on $1.5 billion of investment and 20 per cent of the domestic gas. It
is a great project and I congratulate all the men and women who worked on it
and made it a reality.
with me to the opening of that, along with the Leader of the Opposition and the
member for North West Central.
The oil and gas industry has been the greatest transformation
in the Western Australian economy for decades. It really has grown since the
early 1990s. Although much of the debate is about mega-LNG projects such as
Gorgon, Wheatstone and others, some mid-sized projects could be more important
to Western Australia. About 18 months ago, I was fortunate enough to open the
Devil Creek project, a little further north; and on Friday, to open the Macedon
project. The Macedon project is not to export LNG; it is developing a smaller
gas field, about one trillion cubic feet of gas, entirely for the domestic
market. It will produce 200 terajoules of gas per day, which equates to about
20 per cent of the Western Australian domestic gas supply; as did Devil Creek.
They are two very important projects. That matters to the state. I congratulate
the partners, BHP Billiton Petroleum and Apache Northwest; it is an excellent
project. Beyond the gas it produces and the supply of 20 per cent of our
domestic gas, there are another two factors worth noting about this project.
First, it is the first completed project in the Ashburton North Strategic
Industrial Area. It had been under development over the past couple of years.
This project is now completed and into operation. Of course, adjacent to it is
the Wheatstone project—the $30 billion LNG and domestic gas project—which
is in the very early stages of production.
Because of this government's decision to develop an
industrial estate, we have one project completed and one project going into
heavier construction, with future projects to come. That is transforming the
economy of Onslow, as the Minister for Regional Development said previously.
When the original Dampier to Bunbury to Perth pipeline was built, it was built
by the then state government through the State Energy Commission of Western
Australia. The specification of gas to go through it was according to the gas
of the North West Shelf—that is, its chemical composition, moisture
content, inerts and so on. While that was fine and served the state very well
for a long time, as other gas fields were discovered, naturally there were
differences in the composition of the gas in terms of chemicals, inerts and so
on. The restrictive conditions on the type of gas, or the specification of gas,
that could go into the pipeline constrained development. In 2010, this
government relaxed some of those conditions or specifications for gas that
could go into the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas pipeline. Steve Pastor, the
Houston head of BHP Billiton Petroleum, made the point that that simple measure
to deregulate actually made possible the whole Macedon project. It is a
striking example of one simple deregulatory measure taken by a government that
brought on $1.5 billion of investment and 20 per cent of the domestic gas. It
is a great project and I congratulate all the men and women who worked on it
and made it a reality.
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