
The Katnook Gas Processing Facility near Penola in south-east South Australia will once again provide natural gas to the region following a major redevelopment, assisted through a $6 million grant from the Federal Government’s Gas Acceleration Program.
The Katnook Gas Plant was initially constructed by Origin Energy Resources Limited and commenced production in 1991. The gas plant supplied gas for over 20 years to industrial customers in the South East region.
In 2007, the gas plant and associated infrastructure were sold to Adelaide Energy Proprietary Limited.
Beach Energy Limited (Beach) acquired Adelaide Energy in 2011 and subsequently stopped production at the plant due to limited natural gas supply from fields.
The new gas plant, operated by Beach, will process raw natural gas from the nearby Haselgrove-3 well and transport it via pipelines to customers in Mount Gambier and the surrounding region.
Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia, Keith Pitt, said the redeveloped Katnook gas plant will help energy security in South Australia’s south-east.
“The redevelopment of the Katnook Gas Processing Facility is a great regional example of the outcomes provided through the Commonwealth’s Gas Acceleration Program,” he said.
“SE South Australia is an important regional manufacturing area which needs reliable and affordable supplies of natural gas to maintain and grow its local industries.”
The redevelopment project was also supported by the South Australian Government’s PACE Gas Scheme, contributing $6 million to support the original gas discovery in the Haselgrove-3 well.
“Having locally produced natural gas for SA’s south-east will become more important as the region grows and builds its manufacturing sector. It also means more local jobs,” Minister Pitt said.
“The Hazelgrove 3 discovery and other work onshore in SE South Australia is also demonstrating the expensive folly of unscientific bans and moratoria just across the border in Victoria. While Victoria is sitting on undeveloped gas, South Australia is moving ahead to protect its jobs and industries,” he commented.