The extended sales contract will enable Qenos to maintain its operations in Sydney’s Botany Bay and secure over 300 jobs associated with its New South Wales activities.
The gas will be processed via a dedicated facility at the Santos-operated Moomba gas plant in South Australia.
“Our Cooper Basin joint venture is one of Australia’s largest sources of domestic gas supply, and Santos is committed to ongoing supply to the domestic energy needs of the east coast market,” Santos Vice President Eastern Australia James Baulderstone said.
“Natural gas provides around 45 per cent of the energy requirements of Australia’s manufacturing sector, and this transaction with Qenos highlights that unless NSW can secure future gas supplies, businesses and jobs will be at risk.”
Meanwhile, Qenos Chief Executive officer Jonathan Clancy said securing gas supply was essential to the company’s ongoing operations in NSW.
“Securing this extension of our ethane supply for the next five years underpins our NSW business, by enabling us to undertake a significant major maintenance investment in 2015, reinforcing our ongoing commitment to supply our customers and the Australian market,” Mr Clancy said.
Santos has supplied gas to Qenos since June 1996 via the 1,375 km, 219 mm diameter Moomba to Sydney Ethane Pipeline, with the current contract due to expire on 31 December 2014.