Mr KIELY - 2002-02-26
Will the Chief Minister update the House on any recent developments connected with the effort to get gas onshore to Darwin?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to inform the House that the next stage of the $3bn Bayu-Undan liquid gas recycle project will get underway - and I am sure it will be welcomed by everyone in this House and all Territorians - tomorrow with the installation vessel for the infield pipelines sailing from Singapore to the Bayu-Undan field.
The initial installation work has been undertaken by McDermotts, who are under contract to Phillips Petroleum. The major work with that project will start in March and April as part of an installation contract expected to take approximately five months.
During April, a new drilling rig, the Chiles Discovery will be located on the site of the unmanned wellhead platform and will commence drilling by the beginning of May. I am sure everyone in the House is aware that the first stage of this Bayu-Undan project will produce gas, extract condensate and LPG and then recycle the dry gas back into the reservoir. The reserves are approximately 400 million barrels of condensate and LPG, and that means an expected production rate of around 105 000 barrels per day.
Of course, the development phase of the Bayu-Undan field will offer significant opportunities for Territory business. The offshore installation and commissioning will be largely supported from Darwin, and that is great for Darwin businesses.
Mr Burke: The contract has already been let.
Ms MARTIN: Toll Logistics - and I ask the opposition to join us in the fact that this is actually happening and we should feel very pleased for the future of the Territory, and I would certainly expect support from the Leader of the Opposition for this project and an end to his eternal whinging, and for him to be positive about the future of the Territory because this is a very positive move that is happening tomorrow.
Toll Logistics has been awarded a three year supply base contract from Phillips, and will be the focus of much of this support. They have just established a new facility at Berrimah, which is where this will happen. The Toll supply base will also support the drilling campaign and carry out the various supplies such as tubulars, drilling consumables and other equipment for this project.
The Bayu-Undan liquids project will have an operation spend of around $100m a year for 20 to 25 years. What a great boost in confidence for Territory businesses. This work is now underway; it is a reality. The liquids project is a reality, it is happening and it is great news for Darwin.
The next phase, as we all know and are all hoping to see come to fruition, is to get gas onshore in Darwin. We have been working with the Commonwealth, with the gas producers, with the new nation of East Timor, with potential customers and the local private sector to ensure we have done everything we can to facilitate the early arrival of gas to shore from the Timor Sea.
Six months ago, Phillips had indefinitely deferred the pipeline to shore from Bayu-Undan because of the taxation difficulties with the East Timorese administration, and the floating LNG proposal for the Sunrise field had emerged to threaten plans for a gas manufacturing industry in Darwin. I am very pleased to say that we worked quietly behind the scenes to assist with the ongoing negotiations.
Madam Speaker, we worked quietly behind the scenes, in a direct contrast to our predecessors, to assist with the ongoing negotiations between the East Timorese and Phillips, a point, I would say, acknowledged very clearly by the Chief Minister of the East Timor, Dr Mari Alkatiri. He said he could not have done it with you mob. He said quite clearly. Phillips and the East Timorese have subsequently agreed on taxation arrangements, which they want ratified by both governments as part of the new Timor Gap Treaty proposed for finalisation before East Timorese independence in May.
The obvious need for Australia and East Timor to satisfactorily conclude the Timor Gap Treaty has also been raised with the Commonwealth so that Phillips are in a position to commit to bring gas onshore from Bayu-Undan. The important part here is that this is a bipartisan project. I say to the former Chief Minister and now opposition leader, before you run off to Canberra, would you ask for a briefing? Would you actually know what is the strategy? Would you be part of it? Ignorance is bliss, but in this case it is dangerous for the Territory’s future. We are happy to have the opposition leader briefed, but you know what he has to do first? He has to ask for the briefing. We know he worries about his office expenditure, we know he worries about how much he can whinge and whine …
Mr REED: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Ms MARTIN: Now, Madam Speaker, I look …
Madam SPEAKER: Order, Chief Minister.
Mr REED: The Chief Minister is answering a question which was asked by one of her members and is digressing somewhat widely in terms of now talking about the Leader of the Opposition rather than the substance of the question.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, would you please answer the question? Keep your answer relevant to the question.
Ms MARTIN: I am pleased to answer the question, and to pick up where I was, the important thing is that this is a bipartisan project to bring gas onshore to the Territory. The enormous benefits it has for Territory industry and for job creation is recognised by every single member of this House. If we are going to achieve that outcome for all of us, it is not going to be done by the grandstanding we saw from the opposition leader; it is not going to be done by ignorantly running off to Canberra on the first plane he can book and having discussions that he has not been briefed about. So I say to him: get the briefings and be part of the bipartisan push. We are not repeating the kind of action we saw from him over the beginning of last year, for the first six months, which actually brought the negotiations to a stalemate. We are not going to do that and we will not have that happen. I say to the opposition leader: get briefed, get informed and be part of this rather than standing carping and whinging on the sidelines.
It is such an important project. We are working closely with the Commonwealth and I am confident that if the Territory as a whole can present the important arguments of the national interest in bringing gas to Darwin, both for the Territory and for supply to the south-east network, then we will achieve the outcome we want for the Territory. We are working hard behind the scenes. I would like to say that tomorrow we should all be celebrating that we are seeing the first stage of Bayu-Undan actually coming to fruition.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to inform the House that the next stage of the $3bn Bayu-Undan liquid gas recycle project will get underway - and I am sure it will be welcomed by everyone in this House and all Territorians - tomorrow with the installation vessel for the infield pipelines sailing from Singapore to the Bayu-Undan field.
The initial installation work has been undertaken by McDermotts, who are under contract to Phillips Petroleum. The major work with that project will start in March and April as part of an installation contract expected to take approximately five months.
During April, a new drilling rig, the Chiles Discovery will be located on the site of the unmanned wellhead platform and will commence drilling by the beginning of May. I am sure everyone in the House is aware that the first stage of this Bayu-Undan project will produce gas, extract condensate and LPG and then recycle the dry gas back into the reservoir. The reserves are approximately 400 million barrels of condensate and LPG, and that means an expected production rate of around 105 000 barrels per day.
Of course, the development phase of the Bayu-Undan field will offer significant opportunities for Territory business. The offshore installation and commissioning will be largely supported from Darwin, and that is great for Darwin businesses.
Mr Burke: The contract has already been let.
Ms MARTIN: Toll Logistics - and I ask the opposition to join us in the fact that this is actually happening and we should feel very pleased for the future of the Territory, and I would certainly expect support from the Leader of the Opposition for this project and an end to his eternal whinging, and for him to be positive about the future of the Territory because this is a very positive move that is happening tomorrow.
Toll Logistics has been awarded a three year supply base contract from Phillips, and will be the focus of much of this support. They have just established a new facility at Berrimah, which is where this will happen. The Toll supply base will also support the drilling campaign and carry out the various supplies such as tubulars, drilling consumables and other equipment for this project.
The Bayu-Undan liquids project will have an operation spend of around $100m a year for 20 to 25 years. What a great boost in confidence for Territory businesses. This work is now underway; it is a reality. The liquids project is a reality, it is happening and it is great news for Darwin.
The next phase, as we all know and are all hoping to see come to fruition, is to get gas onshore in Darwin. We have been working with the Commonwealth, with the gas producers, with the new nation of East Timor, with potential customers and the local private sector to ensure we have done everything we can to facilitate the early arrival of gas to shore from the Timor Sea.
Six months ago, Phillips had indefinitely deferred the pipeline to shore from Bayu-Undan because of the taxation difficulties with the East Timorese administration, and the floating LNG proposal for the Sunrise field had emerged to threaten plans for a gas manufacturing industry in Darwin. I am very pleased to say that we worked quietly behind the scenes to assist with the ongoing negotiations.
Madam Speaker, we worked quietly behind the scenes, in a direct contrast to our predecessors, to assist with the ongoing negotiations between the East Timorese and Phillips, a point, I would say, acknowledged very clearly by the Chief Minister of the East Timor, Dr Mari Alkatiri. He said he could not have done it with you mob. He said quite clearly. Phillips and the East Timorese have subsequently agreed on taxation arrangements, which they want ratified by both governments as part of the new Timor Gap Treaty proposed for finalisation before East Timorese independence in May.
The obvious need for Australia and East Timor to satisfactorily conclude the Timor Gap Treaty has also been raised with the Commonwealth so that Phillips are in a position to commit to bring gas onshore from Bayu-Undan. The important part here is that this is a bipartisan project. I say to the former Chief Minister and now opposition leader, before you run off to Canberra, would you ask for a briefing? Would you actually know what is the strategy? Would you be part of it? Ignorance is bliss, but in this case it is dangerous for the Territory’s future. We are happy to have the opposition leader briefed, but you know what he has to do first? He has to ask for the briefing. We know he worries about his office expenditure, we know he worries about how much he can whinge and whine …
Mr REED: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Ms MARTIN: Now, Madam Speaker, I look …
Madam SPEAKER: Order, Chief Minister.
Mr REED: The Chief Minister is answering a question which was asked by one of her members and is digressing somewhat widely in terms of now talking about the Leader of the Opposition rather than the substance of the question.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, would you please answer the question? Keep your answer relevant to the question.
Ms MARTIN: I am pleased to answer the question, and to pick up where I was, the important thing is that this is a bipartisan project to bring gas onshore to the Territory. The enormous benefits it has for Territory industry and for job creation is recognised by every single member of this House. If we are going to achieve that outcome for all of us, it is not going to be done by the grandstanding we saw from the opposition leader; it is not going to be done by ignorantly running off to Canberra on the first plane he can book and having discussions that he has not been briefed about. So I say to him: get the briefings and be part of the bipartisan push. We are not repeating the kind of action we saw from him over the beginning of last year, for the first six months, which actually brought the negotiations to a stalemate. We are not going to do that and we will not have that happen. I say to the opposition leader: get briefed, get informed and be part of this rather than standing carping and whinging on the sidelines.
It is such an important project. We are working closely with the Commonwealth and I am confident that if the Territory as a whole can present the important arguments of the national interest in bringing gas to Darwin, both for the Territory and for supply to the south-east network, then we will achieve the outcome we want for the Territory. We are working hard behind the scenes. I would like to say that tomorrow we should all be celebrating that we are seeing the first stage of Bayu-Undan actually coming to fruition.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016