Blue Energy is advocating for governments to back a 500km multi-user gas pipeline to unlock 15,000 PJ of discovered gas resource in the Bowen Basin.

With post COVID-19 ‘shovel-ready’ infrastructure projects critical to the national economic recovery, it says the Moranbah to Gladstone/Wallumbilla gas pipeline would be capable of delivering up to 300 terajoules (TJ) per day of gas to the domestic market.

It says government sanction and funding of the line would be required to facilitate natural gas and energy field developments in the Northern Bowen Basin.

“Blue management has been in active discussions with representatives of both the Federal and Queensland governments to highlight the need for national energy infrastructure projects to ensure timely and reliable delivery of energy to domestic East Coast manufacturers and gas users,” the company said in its quarterly report this week.

“This is in light of the projected long-term East Coast domestic gas shortfall commencing in 2023, as identified by the latest AEMO GSOO March 2020 report.

“In those discussions, Blue has directed the government’s focus to Queensland’s Northern Bowen Basin as the largest onshore, discovered gas resource that remains undeveloped and unconnected to the east coast domestic gas market.”

Blue Energy holds a range of gas tenements in the Bowen Basin and is already in talks to supply Townsville industrial users via the existing North Queensland Gas Pipeline.

The company is also continuing to work on the potential development of a gas-fired power station about 10km from the Nebo substation in the Bowen Basin.

Prefeasibility studies are underway to review the cost/benefit of scalable fast-start gas turbines aimed at providing peaking electricity generation.

Blue believes that reliable dispatchable electricity generation capacity will be required to augment the massive roll-out of solar and wind energy projects in Queensland.

The company says discussions are underway with industry groups, energy regulators, potential electricity off-takers and equipment manufacturers to gauge equipment size, scalability and connection requirements.