Name of the Project
Narrabri gas project.

Location
The proposed Narrabri gas project is located in New South Wales, Australia, south-west of Narrabri.

Project Owner/s
Santos NSW (Eastern).

Project Description
Santos is proposing to develop natural gas from coal seams in the Gunnedah basin. The project could supply up to 50% of New South Wales’ gas needs and provide significant benefits for the region and the state.

The proposal comprises the development of a gasfield with production and appraisal wells, gas and water gathering systems, as well as supporting infrastructure. The natural gas produced will be treated to commercial quality at a central gas-processing facility on rural property owned by Santos and located south-west of Narrabri.

It is expected that up to 850 individual production wells, partnered to a maximum of 425 well sets, will be progressively advanced and decommissioned within the project area over the estimated 25-year life span of the project. This will include any core holes or pilots drilled as part of the exploration and appraisal programme that are converted to production wells.

The gas- and water-gathering systems, comprising a network of separate, low-pressure, underground pipelines, will link each wellhead to the infield compression gas-processing facility, and the water management, treatment and beneficial reuse facilities (respectively).

The central gas-processing facility will be built and operated at the Leewood property, with some infield compression potentially also required closer to the central location of the wells, depending on gas pressure. Infield compression will comprise package compressors that boost the gas pressure to allow for its being transported through one pipe to the central gas-processing facility.

The gas will be piped through a high-pressure gas-transmission pipeline to market, which is part of a separate approval process and not of the proposed development.

Potential Job Creation
The project could create about 1 300 jobs during the initial construction phase and about 200 permanent jobs, many of which will be locally based.

Capital Expenditure
The project is estimated at $2-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Santos has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Natural Soda to use salt removed from produced water as part of the Narrabri gas project. 

The two companies have been working together for more than 12 months on a commercially viable model that could create a new sodium bicarbonate industry for Narrabri and Australia, creating more local jobs in the region.

Santos MD and CEO Kevin Gallagher has said that the MoU is a commitment from both companies to complete a concept study that will inform a final investment decision to produce sodium bicarbonate in Narrabri.

“The water Santos extracts is of no use to farmers because of the salt content, so we treat the water to a very high standard that is suitable for irrigation, stock watering and other purposes. The salt removed from the water is a natural product and, if our concept study is successful, could be converted into valuable sodium bicarbonate.

“That’s a win-win. It creates a new industry and more jobs; it’s good for the environment and good for farming. However, if things don’t work out as we hope, the water can still be . . .  used for irrigation and the salt removed from the water will be disposed of in accordance with all waste laws,” Gallagher has said.

While Santos has received approval from the New South Wales Department of Planning for the proposed Narrabri gas project, a Coal Seam Gas Moratorium Bill has been introduced through the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, which if implemented, could halt the development of coal seam gas projects in the state.

The project is also still subject to approval from the New South Wales Independent Planning Commission, which is conducting public hearings.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Santos – Narrabri, tel +61 2 6792 9035.