Taranaki Gas Storage Facility On Track
September 24th, 2008
Contact Energy hopes to have NZ’s first underground gas storage facility operational by 2010, at the depleted Tariki/Ahuroa field near Stratford. Contact acquired the field from Swift Energy late last year. CEO David Baldwin says the storage facility will allow more flexibility in supplying gas for electricity generation, with demand for gas expected to become more volatile as renewables are accommodated more into the energy market.
Baldwin says with wind energy projected to generate 10% of NZ’s power by 2015, the need for flexible gas-fired back-up will increase. The existence of gas storage will also enable Contact to reduce its reliance on using ship-based re-gasification. Contact has invested $54m in the new gas storage facility ($27m for the rights to use the site and $27m for the remaining gas in the storage). A further $54m is to be spent on creating a gas cushion at the bottom of the storage unit, plus a further $150m on infrastructure, taking the total to more than $250m. The Ahuroa and nearby Tariki fields have produced well over 100PJ of natural gas since they were first developed in 1996. Contact expects to be able to withdraw gas from the facility at rates up to 170TJ/day.
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