APA Group to add to East Coast gas carrying capacity

APA Group (ASX:APA) has moved to help overcome energy shortage issues on the east coast of Australia with the expansion of the natural gas pipeline grid.

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The company’s stage three East Coast Gas Grid (ECGG) Expansion Plan is expected to add approximately 30% in additional transport capacity and address projected southern market gas shortfalls from CY28.

After completion, APA will have added more than 50% capacity to the East Coast grid over the past five years, with stages one and two adding ~25%.

“These capacity expansion investments, along with future planned expansions, make it crystal clear capacity will not be a constraint to solving projected East Coast gas supply shortfalls,” APA’s CEO and MD, Adam Watson, said.

Stage three comes on economists forecasting possible “significant” blackouts with gas supply not meeting demand and creating calls for domestic gas reservation.

“It’s now critical that the federal government implements a well-designed gas reservation policy that supports upstream investment and ensures adequate volumes are supplied into the east coast,” Mr Watson said.

“There is no question that between Queensland and the Northern Territory, there is enough gas in the ground to support both the domestic market and Asian LNG customers for decades to come.

“The notion that Australia, as one of the three largest LNG exporters in the world, would need to resort to importing LNG when lower cost, lower emissions domestic gas is readily available, simply doesn’t make sense and would represent a massive failure of government policy. The current Federal Government Gas Market Review provides the opportunity to avoid that failure for the long-term.”

Mr Watson added that incremental investment in existing pipeline infrastructure is a proven and timely solution to meet domestic gas needs.

“AEMO’s 2025 Gas Statement of Opportunities clearly states that expansion of existing pipelines, along with unlocking northern supply, would meet forecast gas needs well out into the 2030s without an LNG import terminal,” he said.

APA is down -1.57% today, to $9.09.

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