Senex Energy will go ahead with a $40 million expansion project to lift natural gas production at Atlas by 50 per cent to 18 PJ/year.

The company today announced the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the work, set to support more than 100 jobs during construction.

Senex managing director and chief executive officer Ian Davies said the Atlas expansion project was yet another example of the low-risk, high-return organic growth opportunities available to Senex with its established hub-and-spoke infrastructure operating model.

“Atlas is a high-quality development, providing material and reliable supplies of natural gas to Australian manufacturers, supporting the economy and jobs in local communities,” he said.

“This investment follows strong project execution and natural gas production performance at Atlas, with reservoir performance and well availability continuing to excel.

“The Atlas expansion project will inject around $15 million into regional communities, supporting more than 100 jobs during construction.”

Related: New Senex deal to support manufacturing

The project will involve capital expenditure of around $40 million for natural gas wells, gas gathering and water management infrastructure, funded from existing cash reserves.

Senex is finalising arrangements with Jemena to construct and fund the Atlas processing facility expansion under an extension of existing tolling arrangements, with commissioning expected in Q1 FY23.

The decision follows recent gas sales agreements with Australian manufacturers, including metals processor Nyrstar and construction materials company Adbri.

The Atlas expansion will take the production capacity of Senex’s portfolio of Surat Basin assets to 27 PJ/year – expected to deliver annual EBITDA of more than $130 million per year at prevailing prices.

Meanwhile planning for the third stage of expansion at the Roma North project has already commenced, targeting annual Roma North production of 27 PJ/year.